The Bet
by hyugaheiress
Summary: Jiraiya&Tsuande make a bet involving Hinata's love life as well as Gaara's &Sasuke's.Temari&Ino then make a bet within that bet.Who will Hinata choose, the Uchiha or the Kazekage?Now throw in a lil girl who claims her parents are Gaara&Hinata![OOCness]
1. The bet

**Note: In my story the rookies are 15 and Gai's team is 16. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...Sighs….but if I did Gaara would be the main character.

**The bet**

Chapter one

The two sanin, Jiraiya and Tsunade, were drunk on Sake in Tsunade's office when she supposedly was supposed to be working.

"Hey Tsunade I bet you've never loved anyone," said Jiraiya.

"What are you talking about? I had a boyfriend," she said

"Yeah but he died," said Jiraiya laughing while taking another sip of his sake.

Tsunade got pissed and hit him in the face. He went flying away breaking Tsunade's desk.

"Oww! That hurt!...Well I bet you can't make anyone fall in love with someone else."

"What yes I can. I'm a romantic machine. You want to bet!" yelled Tsunade

"Yeah! I bet 100,000,000 yen!" Jiraiya hollered. (I don't know anything about the value of a yen so I just made some numbers up.)

They stared at each other intensely and then shook hands.

"But there is one condition, I get to pick." Jiraiya took another sip of sake.

"What! You tricked me you bastard!"

"What's the matter I thought you were a romantic machine?"

"Hmph...And that's exactly why I'll win. Like I told you before when it comes to love I know all about it!"

"Yeah right this is coming from a woman whose boyfriend died." Jiraiya carefully whispered making sure Tsunade didn't hear because that would sure earn him another beating.

"Anyway…The person I pick is..." Jiraiya looks around and spots some papers scattered on the floor. They had fallen of f Tsunade's desk when Jiraiya broke it. He picks it up and sees that it is full of names. 'Hmph….this is going to be fun' Jiraiya thought.

The paper contained the names of the entire rookie nine. 'Hmm...That baka naruto is easy to make him fall in love with someone.'

"What about Hinata Hyuga?" Jiraiya said

"That's easy." Tsunade said smiling.

Jiraiya was now smirking. "But not Naruto."

"Damn it," she said. "With who?"

"Well I'll make it easy for you. I'll pick two guys she can fall in love with…Let see. How about Shikamaru?"

"Nope he and Ino are going out." Tsunade took another drink. Her cheeks were turning a slight red color.

Jiraiya scanned the paper. "Kiba or Shino?"

"No! No! They are like brothers to her. The only love they have for her is sibling love."

"How about Sasuke Uchiha." Jiraiya said grinning.

"Well he might be a possibility but he's cold hearted. But then again Sasuke probably doesn't think of her as a nuisance like his fan girls because Hinata doesn't stalk him. It is going to be tough to even get them to talk since Hinata is shy." Tsunade sighed.

"Well let's see…the other person is going to be…Choji!" Jiraiya said rather enthusiastically.

"No! No way!" Tsunade screamed.

"Okay. Just be quiet. What about…Rock Lee?"

"Hell no!" she screamed. She then thought about how Lee and Hinata would look like walking together holding hands. This caused her to fall on the floor and burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

'I think all the pressure of being the hokage has finally gotten to her. She's lost her mind. Why the hell is she laughing anyway?' Jiraiya thought

Then all of a sudden Tsunade's assistants came barging through the door.

"Tsunade-sama. Are you okay? We heard a loud noise." They said.

Both assistants looked down at the floor and noticed bottles of sake everywhere along with a broken desk.

"Oh no. She's drunk again. Tsunade-sama you were supposed to be working." Said one of the assistants. "And what happened to your desk?"

"What are you talking about? I am working!" Tsunade got a pen and paper and started to scribble all over it. "Told you," she said grinning. "And Jiraiya broke the desk so he will be paying for it."

Jiraiya was too drunk to even respond about the accusation.

Her two assistants left the room and were still worried about her work.

"Gosh. You had to scream," said Jiraiya

"My bad I just want the best for Hinata because she is one of my best students. Plus she is a HYUGA after all."

"Anyways…I think this is too easy so I'll make it harder." Jiraiya said while making an evil grin.

"You perverted bastard!" Tsunade yelled

"Let's see" Jiraiya scanned the papers he had picked up earlier. They were peace treaties from other villages. 'Wait a minute…doesn't Konoha have a peace treaty with the sand?'

"I pick the Kazekage of the sand," Jiraiya said while smiling inwardly.

"What! But how, I can't just ask him to come over here!" she said angrily.

"Hey that's not my problem. Just gather my money to pay me when you lose."

Jiraiya leaves…well tries to leave… before he collapsed by the door from being too drunk.

Tsunade just stood there confused by the situation.

'This is going to be hard. First I'll deal with the Kazekage. Maybe if I send all three on a vacation but then that would just be chaotic. How am I going to do this…stupid Jiraiya…you got me this time but I'll get you back.'

Then an idea pops into her head and she starts to write a letter to the Kazekage. She puts the letter in the envelope and orders one of the delivery men (the ones that have numbers on their hats. You know what I'm talking about if you saw the episode.) to take it to Gaara.

"What is it Hokage-sama?" said the mail man.

"I want you to deliver this directly to the Kazekage of the sand. Do I make myself clear number 02567-51? This is very crucial." Tsunade said while looking at his hat.

"Yes Tsunade-sama." He turns around and runs to fulfill his duty.

'You are going down Jiraiya…I'm going to win.'

**Please review…tell me what you think… hopefully I get at least 5 so I can continue this story. I hope you like the chapie…and remember I'm new to writing fics so know that I'm trying my best.**

Tsunade: Perverted bastard Jiraiya

Jiraiya: Ha! Ha! Ha! That's why you love me!

Tsunade: Ewww!..don't make me gag!

Hinata: When do I come out?

Gaara: Why do I have to come out?

Hyugaheiress: later ok Hinata…and Gaara you have to come out because I said so.


	2. The Letter

**Note: In my story the rookies are 15 and Gai's team is 16. **

_Thanks for the review guys I really appreciate it and thanks to AuroraStarPhoenix I now know that I made Jiraiya bet about 1 million dollars...lol…but I guess he gets the money from selling his perverted books._

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and never will

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**The Letter**

Chapter two

Gaara Sabaku no is busily working in his office just like a kage is supposed to do. His office was filled with stacks of paper piled all over the room that you could barley see the red walls of the office.

"Hey Gaara, here is the paper work you ordered," said Kankuro coming in to the room. "Whoa, what happened in here, it looks like a tornado swept through your office."

Just as Gaara was about to respond to his comment the mail man number 02567-51 barged in the door suddenly.

"Here, mail order for you lord Kazekage," the mail man said.

He places it on the desk and rapidly leaves to deliver the other mail.

"What's that?" Kankuro asked.

"What do you think it is loser, he just said what it was." Gaara stated while grabbing the letter. He opens the white envelope and starts to read it.

_Dear Kazekage, _

_I have an offer for you. If you agree to it then send a response right away. The offer is that you sister, Temari, exchanges spots with one kunoichi from my village_. _If you do not agree to it then you will just have to spend your life hearing your sister babbling on forever and ever. What she need is time to rest…_

All of a sudden Temari barges into the room screaming with her hair all messed up and bags under her eyes due to lack of sleep. "GAARA ARE YOU FINISHED WITH YOUR WORK! HURRY UP! KANKURO IT'S YOUR TURN TO WASH THE DISHES!"

Gaara looks at her insane sister and then back at the letter.

_In exchange for your sister we'll give you a shy quiet girl who rarely screams. Think about it, do you want to hear your sister scream or have a quiet place to do your work. _

_From,_

_Lord Hokage_

Gaara looked back at his sister. She was yelling hysterically and knocking the paper work that he had just finished all over the floor.

"YOU GUYS ARE SO ANNOYING! YOU NEVER DO ANY HOUSE WORKAND NEVER CLEAN YOUR ROOMS. DO YOU HONESTLY EXPECT ME TO PCIK UP YOUR DIRTY UNDERWEAR! KANKURO, YOU NEVER TAKE A SHOWER EVEN WHEN YOU STINK. I HAVE TO DRAW THE WATER FOR YOU AND FILL IT WITH BUBBLES UNTIL YOU FINALLY AGREE TO TAKE YOUR STINKY ASS A BATH. AND WHEN I DON'T DRAW YOUR BATH I HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOUR B.O.!" screamed Temari.

"Hey, Gaara do something about her!" Kankuro whispered making sure that Temari didn't hear him.… "She's wrecking your office!…and I don't honestly stink do I?"

Gaara ignores the last part of his question and shoves the letter in his face.

"ARE YOU GUYS LISTENING TO ME!" Temari screamed angrily while ripping out parts of her hair.

Kankuro just ignored her and starts reading the letter. After he finished he started smiling and crying at the same time. He falls on his knees and puts his hands in praying position while saying "Thank you God…you finally answered my prayers."

He looks up at Gaara from the floor. "Please tell me you're going to take advantage of this opportunity!" Kankuro asked in a desperate and pleading voice.

Gaara nods while Temari looks at them confused as to why Kankuro is on the floor and crying.

"Hey Temari, Gaara got a letter from the Hokage of Konohagakure. She wants you to exchange spots with someone," said Kankuro in an unusually happy voice.

"WHAT! HELL NO!" screamed Temari. She started swinging and since Kankuro was the closest to her he got the crap beat out of him.

"Temari" Gaara interrupted. "If you refuse her offer then you will be fueling hostility between our villages and then you would be a disgrace to the Sand village." Gaara calmly stated even though he really didn't know what he was saying since he just made up the last part.

Temari looked at the beat up Kankuro on the floor then shot a death glare at Gaara who had a serious face on. "No way! The only way I'll go is if you drag my cold dead body out of here!" Temari yelled.

Later that day Temari starts to pack for her trip. (I don't know how the hell they made her go…probably because Gaara threatened to actually kill her and drag her body out of there if he had to. Although she likes to think that the reason for her sudden change was that she didn't want to fuel any hostility with the leaf village.)

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**Please review… hopefully I get enough reviews for me to continue writing. I hope you like the chapie…and remember I'm new to writing fics so know that I'm trying my best on this story and with my other story…A rose for you.**

Kankuro: Hell yeah. Temari is finally leaving!

Temari: What did you say?

Gaara: -shoots a death glare at both of his siblings-

Temari: Umm…I mean…I wonder who is switching places with me.

**Tune in for the next chapter where Naruto gets trampled by fan girls and Sasuke finally makes an appearance.**


	3. Why?

**Thank you all for the reviews and** **I hope you like this chapter.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and that is all there is to it.

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**Why?**

Chapter 3

Earlier today Hinata was busily packing her cloths in her bright baby blue room. She was to spend a week in Suna although she doesn't know specifically as to why. Her father just told her the night before that she was to leave.

Hinata had decided to go to the store to buy some snacks for the trip. As she walked out of the store she bumped into Sasuke Uchiha.

"Gomen Uchiha-san" Hinata quietly stated.

Sasuke just gazed at her with his usual cold expressionless face. Just as he was about to respond to the hyugaheiress, that baka naruto jumped out of no where.

"Oi Sasuke bastard, let me borrow some money. I'm so hungry and I want ramen." Naruto yelled before he noticed Hinata standing next to Sasuke. "Oh hi Hinata-chan"

"Um...hi…Na…Naruto-kun" Hinata said while blushing a bright red color.

He looked back at Sasuke and then at Hinata again. "Hey, what are you guys doing?" said Naruto quite loudly.

Before Sasuke could answer they felt the floor starting to shake.

"Oh crap it's the beasts again." Sasuke stated while actually having a worried face on.

A stampede of fan girls was rushing rapidly towards Sasuke.

"Hey Sasuke-kun!" cried one girl.

"Please be my boyfriend!" yelled another.

As the stampede grew closer Sasuke grabbed Hinata's hand and starts to run.

"Come on let's go" Sasuke said rapidly.

"But wait…I--."

"We have no time" Sasuke interrupted as he dragged her forward.

They ran as fast as they could in order to lose the stampede of fan girls.

Naruto being his stupid self was still standing in the middle of the road not even moving out of the stampede's way. The fan girls ended up running him over, squishing his face, arms, and well pretty much everything.

"Ow! Get the hell off me you animals! You're squishing my arms!" He cried out loud as he struggled to get off of the floor.

Anyways back to Hinata and Sasuke. They had stopped running and hid out in the woods.

"Um…Uchiha-san can you let go of my hand" Hinata asked while blushing as red as a tomato.

"What?" Sasuke asked. "Oh sorry" he muttered letting go of her hand as a slight blush formed across his face. He had forgotten that he was still holding her hand since he was to busy looking if they had lost his fan girls.

"Um…arigato…Uchiha-san for helping me. But…umm…what happened to Naruto-kun" she asked worriedly.

"Huh?" He had forgotten about that baka Naruto.

"I… hope he's o….okay." Hinata stated.

Sasuke just remained silent because he knew that Naruto had probably gotten trampled.

There was a moment of silence between them until Hinata broke it. "Anyways…luckily I didn't drop my things." She said while taking in deep breaths. She was still exhausted from all the running.

All of a sudden a Kunai came flying towards Sasuke who quickly dodged it. Another one came out of nowhere and Sasuke was barely able dodge that one. The kunai had slid past his cheek leaving a minor scratch on his face.

"Uchiha-san! Are…you...o…okay" screamed Hinata.

Sasuke touched his cheek and realized he was bleeding. He looked at the direction from where the kunai knife came from.

"Humph well if it isn't the Hyuga." Smirked Sasuke.

"Uchiha" said Neji coolly while standing on a tree swinging a kunai around his fingers. "What have you done to Hinata-sama? Why does she look so exhausted?" Neji asked while jumping off the tree. He appeared next to Hinata.

"Neji-nii-san I'm o…okay….Uchiha-san…helped me from being ….c…crushed..." Hinata stated. "Don't w…worry…s…so…m...much."

"Sorry Hinata-sama but I have a duty to protect the hyugaheiress and I plan to keep that promise." Neji said while turning around to look at Sasuke.

"If you do anything to hurt her Uchiha, I swear you'll regret it" Neji coldly stated while pointing the kunai he had at Sasuke.

"Humph is that a threat" replied Sasuke.

Neji shot a glare at Sasuke. They had a staring contest, for what seemed like a century, until Neji spoke. "Come on Hinata-sama. You need to get ready to leave."

"Okay Neji-nii-san. I…ju…just need to…tell…U…Uchiha-san something." Hinata replied.

"Alright I'll be waiting at Hyuga compound."

Neji then poofs away leaving behind a puff of smoke.

"Arigato…Uchiha-san….for everything and I'm sorry about nii-san. He can sometimes….be ….a little…too overprotective" said Hinata as she smiled.

Sasuke just remained silent while gazing at Hinata.

"Um…Uchiha-san…you...um need to…do something about your…wound. It might…g….get …in…infected" said Hinata in a worried tone. "Let me h…help you…be…besides I owe...y...you for...he...helping me."

She walked towards Sasuke and stands in front of the raven haired shinobi. The hyugaheiress places her hand on his cheek and concentrates on the wound. A green light of chakra starts emitting from her hand.

Sasuke just watched her in amusement. 'Who would have thought this to be the weak Hyuga from 2 years ago. She sure grew into an impressive medical kunoichi.'

"Their, all finished Uchiha-san." Hinata stated while removing her hand from his cheek.

Once again there was silence. But not for long…

"Sasuke bastard!" someone yelled

Hinata and Sasuke looked at the direction from where the loud voice came from. And it was none other than the hyperactive baka of a ninja Naruto.

"Why did you leave me back there!" The blonde screamed. "I got trampled by those freaks of yours. Luckily Konohamaru helped me."

"You're such a loser. What kind of a ninja are you. A real ninja would have jumped out of the way." Sasuke responded in his low cold voice.

"What! Say that again you bastard" yelled the fox boy as his face turned red with anger.

Both of the male shinobi stood there shooting rude remarks at each other while Hinata watched on, afraid of what might happen next. If Naruto were to really piss off Sasuke then he would get the snot beat out of him. And that's what Hinata feared.

"Um…Naruto-kun, Uchiha-san" interrupted Hinata.

Both guys didn't hear her and continued to bicker.

"What kind of ninja wears orange" Sasuke stated.

"What are you talking about! Orange is the best color ever!" naruto shot back.

"Yeah…the best color for clowns like you." Sasuke replied.

"Why you little" Naruto yelled while activating his rasengan. He runs directly towards Sasuke.

Sasuke merely moved aside and dodged Naruto. The baka kept running forward, that is, until he fell inside some bushes.

"Humph. Don't tell me that's all you got dobe." Sasuke said.

"Naruto-kun" Hinata said in a worried tone.

All of a sudden the baka jumped out of the bushes screaming his head off.

"Owwwwwww!" Naruto ran around the waving his hands like a mad man.

"Get this beast off me" he yelled. "He's biting my ass!"

Attached to Naruto's ass was a four legged wolf. The fur from his head to the tip of his tail was black while the fur from his sides was a gray platinum color.

"Shadow clone jutsu" yelled the blonde. Two clones appeared beside him. "Quickly take this beast off me!" he ordered.

His two clones grabbed the wolf by its hind legs and started to pull. But, this wolf wasn't just any ordinary wolf. It let go of Naruto's butt and tackled both of the clones.

"Tsuchi" yelled Hinata. "What are you doing here?" She said as she ran toward the wolf. (Just so you know Tsuchi means ground.)

'Tsuchi? Does she know that wolf?' thought Sasuke

"Hinata-chan don't get close to that **thing!**" Naruto yelled.

The wolf turned his head towards Naruto and growled.

"That beast is going to bite you! Look at what he did to me" screamed Naruto!

Naruto turned his head around while trying to look at his butt. The wolf had bit off a piece of his pants and his pink under wear could now be shown.

"Argh…He tore my pants. I'm going to kill you" Naruto yelled. He was about to attack the wolf when all of a sudden in a puff of smoke Neji appeared in front of Hinata and the wolf.

"Naruto, his name is Tsuchi. Not **thing** or **beast**." Neji coolly stated.

"Who cares! Why the hell are you protecting it!" yelled the irritated ninja.

"Because he belongs to me loser" Neji replied.

"Well you should keep it on a leash." Naruto shot back. "Look at what he did to me" he said while pointing a finger at his ripped pants.

"What are you talking about! Tsuchi didn't make you wear those pink underwear." Neji said while smirking.

"What kind of ninja wears pink underwear" Sasuke sneered.

"Shut up Sasuke bastard! This is between me and Neji! He owes me a new pair of pants!" screamed the fox boy.

"Hinata-sama let's go. It's almost time for you to leave." Neji said ignoring Naruto.

"Neji-nii-san, why did you summon Tsuchi" Hinata questioned.

"I summoned him so he could come get you since you were taking so long. I was worried the Uchiha had done something" he said while shooting a glare at Sasuke.

The Uchiha just scoffed it off.

"But then Tsuchi was taking a long time as well so I decided to come check myself." Neji added.

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted. "Since when did you know how to summon a wolf?"

"None of your business" Neji coldly stated.

"It's a… l…long story N…Naruto-kun, in fact we both can summon a certain animal" Hinata stated.

"Really? Tell me!" Naruto curiously asked.

'She can summon an animal as well?' Sasuke wondered as curiosity rose within him as well.

"Well I guess I can summarize it for you. Let's just say we learned it while on a mission to the water country. A man we met showed us how so now Neji-nii-san can summon a wolf and I can summon a fox" Hinata stated while trying not to blush since Naruto's gaze was on her.

"Summon your fox Hinata." Naruto yelled while jumping around excitedly.

"We have not time for this Hinata" said Neji. He grabbed Hinata's wrist and started to leave.

"Bye Naruto-kun, Uchiha-san" yelled a waving Hinata while being dragged by Neji.

As soon as Hinata and Neji were out of sight Naruto spoke up. "Huh? I wonder where Hinata is going. What do you think Sasuke bastard?"

"Sasuke bastard!" yelled Naruto as he turned around to face Sasuke. But, Sasuke was no longer there. He had left as soon as Hinata left.

Sasuke was walking down the trail that led back to the village hoping his fan girls had given up on searching for him.

'Why did I save her? Why didn't I just let her get trampled or tell her to go away like I would have done to the other girls? There is something different about her.' Sasuke thought.

As Sasuke walked closer towards the village he saw restaurant signs. He tried to focus on the signs but no matter how much he tried his thoughts drifted back to Hinata. 'Why did I blush?" He thought while rubbing his cheek. 'Why the hell is this bothering me?'

That was all Sasuke could think about for the rest of the day.

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**Please review guys….that way I can continue to write. I hoped you like the chapter. And next time Hinata will definitely summon her fox.**

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Sasuke: Why!

hyugaheiress: Ahh! Sasuke has a crush. That's so sweet. –makes kissing noises-

Sasuke: Shut up! No I don't!

hyugaheiress: Yeah right…that's why you can't stop thinking about her.

Sasuke: ….


	4. Exchanging

**Sorry guys, I know I haven't updated in a while but it's because of school and other things, and well mostly cuz I'm too lazy. So, to make it up to ya'll I'm posting two chapters. One today…obviously… and the other one on Sunday or Monday. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto and never will.

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**Exchanging**

Chapter 4

Neji was waiting outside the Hyuga manor with Tsuchi. He was leaning against the tan colored wall while Tsuchi growled at people who passed by. The only person who Tsuchi liked, besides his master, was Hinata.

They were going to accompany Hinata to see Tsunade about her exchange with Suna. As soon as Hinata came out Tsuchi ran up to her hoping she would pet him. As she leaned down to pet the wolf Neji spoke up.

"Are you ready Hinata-sama? Are you going to meet Tsunade-sama at her office or at the gates?"

"I was going to meet her a--."

"Hey Hinata-chan!" a familiar voice interrupted

Neji and Hinata turned towards the direction of the voice and saw none other than the tall, blonde, blue eyed kunoichi other wise known as Ino Yamanka.

"Hey Ino-chan" Hinata yelled back. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were leaving so I came to say good bye" she responded. "Also I wanted to see who you were switching with. Do you know who it is?"

"No, I have no clue as to who it might be." The hyugaheiress stated. "Hey Ino-chan where's your boyfriend?"

At that moment a figure approached the two kunoichis. "Man keeping up with you is so troublesome Ino. What a pain in the neck" said the good for nothing full of complaints chunin known as Shikamaru Nara. "Why do I have to be here?"

"Because I said so" Ino responded as she put her arm around his arm.

"You two make such a cute couple." Spoke Hinata. "I...I…wish I had someone"

"Don't worry, you'll find somebody. Right Shikamaru, Neji." The blonde questioned

Neji just nodded in agreement while Shikamaru just_ had_ to open his mouth.

"Aghh man women are such a pain" the ninja stated in his usual lazy tone.

"What did you say!" Ino angrily shot back. She and Shikamaru continued to argue for what seemed like a century.

"Come…on…guys…don't fight" stated a worried Hinata.

Ino and Shikamaru didn't hear what she had just said and continued to fight.

Neji just stood there with Tsuchi amused by the whole scene. That is until Tsuchi's ears sprang up. The platinum colored wolf's head shot up as he looked toward the street.

Neji noticing this spoke up "What is it Tsuchi?" He looks up and sees Tsunade coming around the corner followed by the Kazekage and his sand siblings. "Hinata-sama, Tsunade-sama is coming." He said as he pointed to their direction.

Upon hearing this Ino quickly shuts her mouth and turns towards where the kages are.

"Hey Hinata" waved Tsunade as she approached the Konoha ninja.

"Hey Tsunade-sama…um what are you doing here? We were just about to go meet you at your office." The Hyuga heiress stated.

"Oh well I decided to escort the Kazekage here myself" responded the sanin.

"Wait" Kankuro interrupted "is she the one that is exchanging spots with Temari?" he asked as he pointed his finger close to her face. "She's not bad looking." He added.

"Hey take your dirty hands away from Hinata-sama's face!" yelled an angry Neji.

"Yes Kankuro, this is the person that Temari will be exchanging spots with." Tsunade interrupted.

"Man Kankuro you're such an idiot. Duh this is the person that I'm exchanging with. Why do you care anyway?" asked an irritated Temari

"Well…" Kankuro stated as he turned around with his back facing Hinata. He started fidgeting with his fingers as a slight blush rose across his face. "She's so pretty…not ugly like someone I know."

Temari hits him on the head making a big bump appear. "Are you talking about me!" she angrily stated.

Hinata couldn't help but blush at his compliment. "Um…thanks" she stated as a grin came upon her face. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Hinata Hyuga."

Kankuro then rushes up to her. "You look pretty when you smile."

"Um thanks" said Hinata a little creeped out.

"Wait, your name is Hinata Hyuga? Hmm…I heard that name somewhere before." Kankuro stated while putting his finger on his chin in a thinking position. "Now I remember! You were the one from the chunin exams who got injured by some guy talking about fate and failures. Who was that psycho anyway?" Yet again he stood in his thinking position. He thought of it for a while until he realized who it was. "It was **you**!" the puppeteer yelled while pointing at Neji.

"Don't point those dirty **sausages **at me" Neji coolly stated.

"Pfft!" Neji's comment had caused the sand kunoichi to grin.

"Are my hands really dirty?" stated Kankuro as he looked at his hands

"Ignore my brother" Temari interrupted as she turned to face Hinata and Ino. "He's an idiot. Anyways you might remember us from the chunin exams. I'm Temari, the baka over there is Kankuro, and the Kazekage is Gaara" said Temari pointing at each of them.

Hinata and Ino turn towards Gaara to bow in respect as they state in unison "Nice to meet you Kazekage-sama."

Gaara just nods in consent and continues to stand there as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

"Anyways, let's get this exchange over with" said the sand kunoichi in a bored tone as she turned towards the Hokage.

"Alright then Temari, you will be staying in the Hyuga manor where the maids will assist you in anything you need." Tsunade stated.

"What! Maids!...Ya'll have maids?" a shocked Temari questioned.

"Yeah why?" a confused Tsunade asked

"Oh thank god! No more picking up dirty underwear, dirty r..." screamed and overly excited Temari until Kankuro put his hand over her mouth.

"Dirty…. Underwear?" questioned Hinata

"Oh no she said no more dirty messy hair" a nervous Kankuro said while trying to stop Temari from biting his hand.

"Let me go!" Temari mumbled before she hit him in the face and causing his nose to bleed.

"Ow! My **beautiful** face!" yelled the puppeteer while trying to stop the bleeding

"Psst…Hinata-chan I thought I specifically heard her say dirty **underwear **not dirty hair" whispered a disgusted Ino.

"I don't know Ino-chan" replied a confused Hinata.

"Hey, don't you guys have maids…I mean Gaara-sama is **the Kazekage** so I'm sure ya'll can afford maids." The blue eyed kunoichi asked

"Well yeah but each time we hire a maid they seem to quit after a single day" Kankuro responded.

"They only quit after they saw your room" said Temari out loud

"**What! **My room is **100 percent** clean!" yelled the puppeteer.

"Yeah right!" the sand kunoichi laughed "More like 100 percent dirty."

-Cough cough- "Anyways…" the irritated Hokage interrupted "Hinata you will be living with the Kazekage and Kankuro."

"Yes!" screamed Kankuro. "Don't worry Hinata-chan I'll take good care of you, better than that psycho cousin of yours" stated Kankuro as he pointed at (the ubber hott…hehe) Neji.

CHOMP!

"Agh!" Kankuro cried. "What the hell is biting my fingers! Get it off! Get this beast off me!"

The sand sibling started to run around like a maniac while Ino and Temari cracked up. They held their sides and laughed so hard that tears ran down their cheeks.

Neji just stood there smirking as he watched the baka run around trying to get Tsuchi off of him. "I told you to **never** point those dirty fingers at me" he stated rather coolly.

Shikamaru just stood there watching the whole scene unfold with his usual bored expression. Gaara on the other hand just stood there wondering if Kankuro** was** **even **his brother.

"Tsuchi stop!" cried Hinata while trying to remove his teeth from Kankuro's fingers. It took five whole minutes because Tsuchi wouldn't let go, it was as if he was hanging on for his life. "He's our guest Tsuchi. You shouldn't be attacking him like that."

Tsuchi had finally let go of the baka's fingers and made his way towards his owner. "Good job Tsuchi" muttered Neji calmly.

"Oh...god…I really need some sake right about now" the hokage spoke. "Shall we get on with this? I think it's time for you to leave already Hinata….before Tsuchi hurts Kankuro again."

"Oh ok."

"Hinata-sama if anyone does anything to you tell me and I'll deal with them myself" said the older Hyuga while popping his knuckles as he looked at Kankuro.

"Okay Neji-nii-san. But don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Bye Hinata-chan! Be careful ok? See you in a week" Ino said while giving Hinata a big hug.

"Bye Ino-chan" responded the hyugaheiress

Hinata grabs her luggage and walks towards Kankuro and Gaara while Temari went over with Neji and Ino.

Before completely leaving the blue haired kunoichi turns around and with a big smile says, "Bye Tsunade-sama, Neji-nii-san, Tsuchi-kun, Ino-chan, Shikamaru-kun!" And with that she walked away.

Ino waved back until Hinata was out of sight.

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Hinata, Kankuro, and Gaara were outside the Konoha gate and were about to leave until Hinata suddenly stopped.

"Hey Hinata-chan lets go already" said the puppeteer.

"Um…can you guys wait….I need to do something" she stated as she put her luggage on the floor.

"Huh?" asked Kankuro while he and Gaara watched her in bewilderment.

Hinata bit her thumb making herself bleed and made some hand seals. Then she said, "Summoning Jutsu" while putting her hand on the floor. A puff of smoke appeared in which a shadow could be seen.

"Could that be…?" Gaara questioned.

The smoke then disappeared completely, allowing the shadowy figure to be clearly seen.

"It's a fox" stated Kankuro

On the ground was a small chestnut colored fox with a white colored chest. The tip of his tail was white as well as the bottom of his paws. However, this fox wasn't like another fox, it had a crescent moon shaped birth mark on his forehead. (That made it all the more cute)

"Uh?" why did you summon the fox?" asked Kankuro with question marks all over his face anime style.

"Uh…that's Poplar" the hyugaheiress stated pointing at Poplar who seemed to be chasing a butterfly. "I always summon him when I go on a journey or mission. He gives me company and also takes care of me." (Just so you know its pronounced Pop**e**lar)

"Who taught you how to summon him?" Gaara interrupted.

"Well it's a long story." Hinata explains the whole story to them until Kankuro understood. He was a little slow on understanding so she had to explain it again.

Ten minutes later…

"So you're saying that thing is strong. It doesn't seem to be showing any signs of strength" the puppeteer stated while glancing at Poplar.

Poplar heard what Kankuro said and wasn't happy about it. His hair rose up like long spikes and his eyes turned red. He turned around to look directly at Kankuro as a dark aura surrounded the fox. It snapped its teeth making sure Kankuro saw how long and sharp they were.

"Look at it! It's evil!" screamed a trembling puppeteer.

"Huh" Hinata said as she turned around to look at Poplar. Poplar, however, noticed his owner turning around and quickly started to act normal. His fur receded back to its normal smooth coat self. Upon seeing this Hinata asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't see that!" Kankuro asked

"Saw what?" the lavender eyed kunoichi questioned

Gaara on the other hand had seen Poplar scare his sibling and thought it was hilarious.

"Never mind" said the puppeteer as he looked at Poplar.

Hinata just shrugged her shoulders and went to pick up her luggage. While Hinata's back was still turned, Poplar looked at Kankuro and gave him the evil eye with the addition of another look at his sharp teeth.

Kankuro was about to comment on this until Hinata said something first.

"Okay guys let's go. Come on Poplar."

Poplar ran up to Hinata and stuck to her side as they started their journey to the Sunagakure Village.

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Mean while Temari entered Hinata's baby blue room. She made her way towards the bed and jumped on it. With her arms and legs stretched out on the queen size bed she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

"Yes! No more running errands for Gaara and best of all **no more** picking up Kankuro's underwear." She said aloud. 'This is the best day of my life.'

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Shikamaru is walking Ino home while she complains about how she is going to miss Hinata.

"I'm going to be so lonely without Hinata-chan. Now who am I going to talk to?" Ino whined.

"Ah man what a drag…what about Tenten or Sakura?" Shikamaru suggested.

"NO! Hinata's my best friend! Tenten is nice and all but she is not as understanding as Hinata. And how could you even suggest Sakura! She is such a backstabbing whore!"

"Oh right I forgot."

At that instant the raven haired shinobi just happened to be passing by.

"I can't believe Hinata-chan has to live in Suna for a **whole** week" sighed Ino.

Upon hearing Ino's last statement he couldn't help but blurt out, "What!"

"Oh hey Sasuke-kun, you haven't heard the news that Hinata was leaving today?" Ino asked. "You should have seen the guy who she was going to be staying with. He had so much make up on, he totally creeped me out. He was all over Hinata-chan, especially the way he kept calling her Hinata-**CHAN**. Can you believe that, I mean he barely knows her and he calls her **CHAN**?"

Sasuke eyes widened. 'Who does that freak think he is!' he thought to him self as he clenched his fist. He quickly turned around; ignoring Ino's rambling, and ran towards the Konoha gates.

"What was that all about?" a confused Ino asked. "Well either way I will go speak with Tsunade-sama tomorrow and asker her why Hinata had to leave in the first place. I don't want her to endure living with that make up wearing freak for no reason. "

-Sigh-"It seems that the Uchiha has a crush on the Hyuga" Shikamaru commented.

"What! No way! How do you know?" asked Ino

"You know instead or rambling on you should have paid attention to his reaction. He clenched his fist and happened to run in the direction of where the Konoha gates are."

"Really?...well now that you mention it I think you're right."

"Man women are so clueless" Shikamaru stated while earning a death glare from Ino.

------------

Sasuke rushed past people as he ran towards the gates. He even knocked down some people in the process, including Naruto. Except that wasn't an accident, it was on purpose. 'If I hurry I think I can still catch her'

Sasuke finally reached the gates but sees no one there.

"Damn" he muttered.

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**Hoped you like this chapter. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors. I wrote this in a hurry. Any ways PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! That way I can continue to write my story.**

**_I know the Kankuro liking Hinata thing is kind of weird but I thought it would be funny…I guess I'll use it for comic relief. But you don't have to worry cuz he is definitely not going to end up with Hinata._**

**----------------------**

Sasuke: Damn!

hyugaheiress: Aww! Poor Sasuke.

Kankuro: Haha…she's mine now!

Poplar: -bites Kankuro's hand-

Kankuro: Owwwwww!

Ino: Hah! That's what you get you make up wearing freak!

hyugaheiress: Give it up Kankuro…you are not going to end up with Hinata. It's going to be Sasuke or Gaara.

Sasuke: Humph. I'm definitely going to win. –Smirk-


	5. Unlikely Parents

**THANK YOU SO MUCH guys. I received a lot of reviews expressing your wishes for me to continue this story. I really appreciate it and I also don't expect you guys to review every single time since sometimes you all are very busy (I completely understand that).But, I wouldn't mind some feed back once in a while expressing your comments and suggestions you know. **

**To thank you guys for your support I have made this chapter longer. I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto and never will. If I did then the story line would be totally different.

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**Unlikely Parents**

Chapter 5

Hinata, Gaara, and Kankuro are halfway in reaching their destination. They walk in comfortable silence as Hinata takes in the beautiful scenery.

All of a sudden they hear a loud scream.

"Aghhhhh!!! No leave her alone!" screamed a woman.

"What…what the hell was that?" Kankuro questioned

"Get away! We have nothing you want….Aghhhhhh!" A male voice pierced the forest this time.

Hinata felt shivers run down her spine. 'I have a bad feeling about this' She dropped her stuff and quickly ran in the direction of the screams followed by Poplar.

"Wait Hinata-chan!" Kankuro yelled as he and Gaara ran after her.

When Hinata arrived at the scene she saw a little girl laying unconscious on the floor near a boulder while two other bodies lay on top of each other a few feet away. The two bodies were drenched in blood and a kunai could be clearly seen sticking out of one of the bodies.

Hinata stood there shocked and unable to move until a voice brought her back to reality.

"You will now die!" yelled a man.

Hinata looked up and saw a ninja midway in air heading towards the girl. He had on a hidden mist forehead protector so he was clearly from the village hidden in the mist. He headed towards the little girl with a kunai clutched in his hand.

As he neared the girl he hurled the kunai at the her but it was quickly reflected by a wall of sand.

"Huh?" Hinata turned around to see Gaara and Kankuro standing in all their glory….well mainly (the uber hot...hehe) Gaara.

"Check to see if the little girl is ok." The red haired shinobi declared.

Hinata did as she was told and rushed to see if the little girl was still alive. Meanwhile Kankuro and Gaara were left to deal with the ninja.

Kankuro placed his hand on the white strap on his shoulder. He was about to bring out crow but was stopped by Gaara's comment.

"Let's get this over with quickly," the red haired stated as he stood there with his arms crossed across his chest as always.

"Awww…come one…I wanted to have a little fun," Kankuro whined. He hadn't sparred or hurt anyone in a whole month and was just itching to break a few bones.

The mist ninja ignored the puppet master's comment and made clones of himself. "Now try to tell which one I really am you snot nosed brats!"

"We don't have to" Gaara shot back. He wrapped all the clones in sand. "This is much easier."

"Even if Gaara there couldn't use the sand we could still tell which one is the real you." Kankuro interrupted. "You made it too easy…the real you is the one on the far left." He stated while pointing at the sand wrapped ninja. "Judging by your poorly made clones you must be a lower level chunin."

As Gaara tightened the sand around the clones the ninja screamed out in pain.

"Ahggggg! STOP!" cried the ninja. His face showed distress, worry, and fear all at the same time.

"Man Gaara, why do you get to have all the fun? Anyways hurry up and end it now. His voice is so annoying," Kankuro exclaimed as a smirk rose across his lips.

"Sabakukyu." (The coffin of crushing sand) muttered Gaara as he clenched his hand. It happened so quick that the ninja didn't even scream out in pain.

----------

"Are you okay?" a worried Hinata asked as she leaned down next to the girl. She didn't respond so Hinata, scared that the little girl might be dead, felt her pulse. Luckily she wasn't, she was just unconscious.

"Phew, she's okay." The lavender eyed kunoichi affirmed as she stood up.

"Hey Hinata-chan, what about these people?" The puppet master inquired as he pointed at the two bodies.

She walked over to where the bodies lay but deep inside Hinata knew that it was too late for them, they were dead.

Gaara surveyed the two bodies. 'They're probably husband and wife' "Are they ok?" he asked.

Hinata checked their pulses but found not beat. They were unfortunately dead.

"They're…" Hinata paused. "Dead" 'I couldn't do anything to help them….why do these things happen' the kunoichi thought as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Gaara noticing Hinata's reaction decided to speak up. "Okay…I think we should take a break. We all could use some time to rest and that way you can tend to the girl's wounds."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." Hinata responded as she wiped away the tears.

"Cheer up Hinata-chan ok, crying doesn't suit you. You look better when you smile." Kankuro stated as he walked towards the two bodies. "I guess Gaara and I will have to burry the victims." The puppet master added as he carried one of the bodies.

Gaara followed suit as he carried the remaining body and made his way into the forest after Kankuro.

Hinata took her medical equipment out of her backpack and examined the girl.

The little girl had shoulder length honey colored hair that was pulled into pigtails, big hazel green eyes, and had a light skin complexion. She wore a pink skirt, a white long sleeve shirt that had pink hearts centered in the middle, white knee length stockings with hearts along the sides, and brand name Pazitos pink loafers. (If you have ever seen or read the manga Aishiteruze Baby then you will have a very good idea of how this little girl looks like. I modeled this character after the little girl from this manga because she's so cute.)

The Hyuga heiress takes out some alcohol and swabs and begins to tend to the girl's minor cuts. (Keyword minor….she doesn't have to use medical ninjutsu for something like this.) 'She has a nasty bump on her head' thought Hinata as she took out a long white bandage and wrapped it around the girl's head.

"Poor little girl…she seems to be only 5 years old and now her parents are dead. She's all alone now" the hyugaheiress states aloud as she tries to hold back tears. Hinata knew how it felt to be alone. Even though she had her father and sister, they neglected her so it was as if she had no family.

Poplar starts to whine as he looks at the little girl.

"I know Poplar; when she finds out she'll be devastated."

10 minutes later…

"We're back" states Kankuro as he makes his way towards Hinata with Gaara following closely behind.

Hinata lays the girl on a blanket she had pulled out earlier.

"Is she okay?" asked Gaara.

"Uh…yeah…she just has some minor cuts and a bump on her head. I don't think it's severe though" said Hinata getting up.

"Now what? I mean we can't just leave the little girl here." The worried Hyuga states.

"Sure we can…watch," Kankuro says as he walks off without a care in the world.

"You're so unsympathetic Kankuro" The Hyuga heiress exclaims as she stares at him in disappointment and shock.

"Well I just think we should leave" Kankuro responds. "It's getting late and their might be freaks out here."

"Like you?' said Gaara.

"Ha ha ha …very funny Gaara." The puppeteer replied.

"Sigh. Well I guess you do have a point. It's getting late and since we are close to Suna we need to get going, that way we won't have to camp out here for the night" states the Kazekage.

"But…what do we do about the girl?" a worried Hinata asks.

"I told you, we should just leave her…kids are annoying anyway." the cold hearted Kankuro explains.

Hinata just ignores him and looks at Gaara.

"We can't just leaver her here in the forest." Hinata argues "What do you think Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara looks at the little girl for a minute. "We'll take her to Suna." The red haired sibling suddenly states. "She needs to go to the hospital to get proper medical care incase she has any other injuries that we can't detect."

"Good idea," the Hyuga heiress states as a smile forms on her lips. "You have a kind heart Gaara-san, unlike your brother." She adds as she makes her way to the little girl.

Hearing her comment Kankuro's jaw dropped to the floor. "I'm so much more sympathetic than Gaara" he murmured as he pouted. 'And did she just call him Gaara-SAN?...She's not supposed to call him by any other name than Kazekage-sama. She's getting more and more comfortable with him by the minute…I have to stop this!'

Gaara couldn't help but smirk at his brother's obvious jealousy.

Hinata kneeled down beside the girl and leaned her up to a sitting position to take the blanket that was underneath her. She placed the blanket in her backpack and then lifted the little girl into her arms. The little girl's chin rested on Hinata's shoulder while her body leaned on the Hyuga's right side.

They once again start on their way to the sand village.

-----------------

After an hour of walking they had reached where Suna's environment could be clearly detected. The transition was uncomfortable for Hinata since she was use to the cool weather of Konoha. The desert was very hot and the sand was rough, something Hinata wasn't use to.

10 minutes later….

Yawn. "Uh. Where am I?" the little girl asks as she rubbed her eyes. The little girl had finally woken up.

Noticing this Hinata stops and puts her down.

"Finally the brat woke up," states an annoyed Kankuro. He was probably annoyed because the whole time they've been traveling Poplar has been trying to bite him. Poplar is very overprotective and when Kankuro tried to get close to the Hyuga and strike up a conversation Poplar would bite his leg.

Hinata knelt down to face the girl. "Are you alright?"

The little girl looks at the Hinata for a moment and then suddenly yells, "Mommy!" The little girl gives Hinata a big hug.

"Uh what?" asks a confused Hinata

"Hinata-chan you have a daughter?! And you never told me?!" a shocked Kankuro blurts out.

"You're such a baka" declared Gaara obviously annoyed by his brother's stupidity.

The little girl lets go of a confused Hyuga and turns towards Kankuro. She looks at him for a moment and then turns to look at Gaara. "Daddy!" she yells as she runs up to him. Her little arms wrap around his legs in an effort to hug him.

Gaara just stands there completely shocked by the little girl's accusation. He looks down at the smiling girl. "Daddy!" she states as she continues to hug Gaara.

"Gaara!" Kankuro interrupts. "Why didn't you tell me you had a daughter?!" a flabbergasted and amazed puppet master asks.

"Baka" Gaara blurts out as he regains his composure. "How can I have a daughter?! Think about it, she looks to be 4 or 5 yrs. old. That means that I would have had her when I was 10." An irritated Gaara responds once again annoyed by his brother's stupidity.

"Oh…I see" answered Kankuro. He made his way towards the little girl who was still tightly clung to her "Daddy". He kneels down to face her. "What's your name?" the puppeteer demanded as he flicked her on the forehead with his index finger.

"Agh! Daddy he hit me!" cried the little girl as she quickly hid behind Gaara.

The little girl pokes her head from behind. "Is he gone?" the little girl innocently asks.

"Unfortunately he'll never be gone" says a disappointed Gaara.

Finally getting over the shock Hinata turns toward the girl. "Hey I just realized something…since Gaara-san is your father…and Kankuro is his brother…I guess that makes him your uncle." A giggling Hinata declared.

"Uncle?" questioned Kankuro. "So Gaara is the dad and Hinata-chan's the mom" he pauses "**NO**!" he blurts out. "**I'm** the father!"

Kankuro turns to look at the little girl again. "Come to daddy" he says while holding out his arms and putting on a big kool-aid smile. (Which was actually rather creepy)

The little girl sticks her tongue out at Kankuro. "You wear too much paint you meanie! And you're not my daddy!" she yelled as she ran towards Hinata.

"Why you little…" Kankuro mumbled while waving his fist at her.

"Leave her alone Kankuro." Gaara warned.

"Stay out of this Gaara; this is between me and my daughter"

"She's not your daughter baka" Gaara said as a matter of fact.

"Of course she is, just look at her. Don't you see the resemblance?!"

"Are you calling her ugly" Gaara states.

"Ha ha…very funny Gaara…you're just **full **of jokes today aren't you?!"

Just as Gaara was about to respond he was cut off by the little girl's comment.

"Mommy I'm hungie" the little girl said as she looked up at her "mother" with big puppy dog eyes while rubbing her stomach. "Grrr…wow…you heard that? My tummy made a noise."

"Hungie? Do you mean hungry sweetie?" Hinata asked with a caring and motherly tone.

"Uh huh" the little girl replied.

"Okay, let's see what I brought with me." Hinata starts digging inside her backpack. "I have some rice balls. Would you like that?"

The little girl nods, takes one of the rice balls, and starts to munch on it. She gets a little rice on the side of her mouth and Hinata cleans it off with a napkin.

"Look at Hinata-chan…she makes a great mother." Kankuro whispered to Gaara. "And that's why she and** I **make a prefect family" the puppet master stated dreamily with stars in his eyes.

Gaara just ignored his bother's comment…obviously disgusted by the thought.

"So what's your name?" asked Hinata

"I don't know mommy. You're my mommy so aren't you supposed to know" the little girl said as she munched on a rice ball.

"Uh…well…about that…"

"Oh" the little girl interrupted. "I know…call me Miki. Miki likes that name."

"Okay, well Miki where do you live?"

"Miki doesn't know."

"Well do you remember why you were out here?" the heiress asks.

"Miki doesn't know. Don't **you** know mommy?"

'Why…why can't she remember anything?' thought the Hyuga.

Miki ate the last rice ball. "Mommy, Miki finished all the rice balls."

Hinata nodded as she cleaned Miki's face. The little girl just kept smiling at her "mother" until something caught her eye.

"Ooh! What a pretty little fox!" exclaimed Miki as she pointed at Poplar.

Hinata smiled. "This is Poplar" said the Hyuga holding up the fox to show Miki.

Miki reached out to pet Poplar who was now on the floor.

"Don't touch that evil thing!!" yelled Kankuro, this in turn caused Polar to give him the evil eye.

Miki ignored him and petted the fox. "Wow, he's so soft!"

Hinata and Miki start talking about Poplar, which, Poplar very much liked.

"Wow, Hinata-chan seems to have a good relationship with Miki" states Kankuro.

Gaara just nods in agreement.

"Hey Hinata-chan come over here for a sec." said Kankuro.

Hinata makes her way to the sand siblings while Miki is left playing with Poplar.

"What's going on? Why can't she remember anything?" the puppet master inquired.

"Well, I guess she lost her memory" spoke Hinata.

"What do you mean she lost her memory?" the puppeteer asked.

"Well how do you suppose she got that big bump on her head. She probably fell and hit her head on the boulder we saw her laying next to when we found her. As a result I guess she lost her memory" the lavender eyed kunoichi stated.

"Man you look pretty when you know everything" Kankuro teased while starring deeply at Hinata.

"…"…. "Anyways, should we tell her about her real parents?" asked Hinata. "Although she might not remember them even if we do tell her. She might even ask who they are."

They all nod in agreement.

"We should just wait until she goes to the doctor to tell her. There's not point in telling her if she's not going to know who they are."

"Good idea Gaara-san."

"Alright then, let's go to Suna already! It's getting dark out here and like is said, who knows what kind of freaks are out here" informed (the not so uber hot) Kankuro.

Just as Gaara was about to respond to Kankuro's comment he was beaten to it.

"Like you meanie" giggled Miki. She had suddenly appeared next to Gaara along with Poplar.

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at what her "daughter" had implied. Gaara was too cool to actually laugh so he just smirked.

'Hmm…this kid is not that bad. It looks like I'm going to get along with her well' thought Gaara.

"Why you little brat!" yelled Kankuro sticking out his tongue at her.

Miki responds by sticking out her tongue at Kankuro as well.

"Um…Miki we're going to Suna okay" says Hinata

"Suna?" she questions.

"Yeah" Hinata replies.

"Is that where mommy and daddy live?"

"Um…well sort of." She responds slightly blushing at the thought of her and Gaara living together as husband and wife.

"Yay! Miki can't wait to get home!" yelled the excited little girl.

Once again they head on their way to Sunagakure.

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30 minutes later….

Night had fallen and the Suna gates could be clearly seen because of the lights illuminating the walls.

"Miki sees the gates Daddy!" the girl yells out as she pulls on Gaara's pants and points at the gates.

Miki suddenly grabbed Hinata's and Gaara's hand and pulled them forward in an effort to get there faster.

They quickened their pace and were practically speed walking. Kankuro was left behind along with a not so friendly Poplar. You can guess what happened there.

When they were a few feet away from the entrance they slowed their pace down to a walk. They walked along side each other since Miki was still holding Hinata's right hand and Gaara's left hand. She started to swing their hands up and down as they approached the gates. (Such a cute scene.)

"Miki is having fun!" she states as she looks up at her smiling mother and believe it or not…even Gaara smiled back.

'This little girl seems to have a lot of energy' thought Gaara as he looked down at Miki. He then glanced at Hinata, who happened to sense him looking at her, and received a smile form the porcelain skinned beauty.

Gaara couldn't help but blush and quickly turned away to avoid her from seeing it.

This was such a cute moment but unfortunately it didn't last since the baka suddenly intruded. "Hey guys don't leave me by myself with the monster…and why are you swinging your hands?! What about me?!" yelled Kankuro

Kankuro ran to catch up to the happy family. Kankuro was about to grab Hinata's hand but was stopped by Poplar who scooted his way next the Hyuga.

They were only a foot away from the Suna gates. The big brown gates were guarded by 2 sand shinobi who quickly bowed at the approaching Kazekage. "Welcome back Lord Kazekage."

"Miki says hello" the little girl responded.

"Well hello to you too." The sand shinobi answered. The ninjas looked at Miki and wondered who she was and then they realized she was holding Gaara's and Hinata's hand.

"Well well well Lord Kazekage, you have a daughter and a wife" they brown haired shinobi stated.

"And a beautiful wife at that" added the blonde shinobi.

Hinata blushed as red as a tomato while Gaara just looked away by averting hit attention to the side.

"They're **NOT** married!!" interrupted an angry Kankuro. "This little girl is **MY** daughter!" he yelled as he lifted Miki up.

"Aghhh!! Miki says to let go you meanie!" she screamed while struggling to get away form Kankuro.

"Sir step away form the Kazekage's daughter!" the blonde shinobi menacingly stated.

"Unless" the other shinobi interrupted "you want to get hurt" he threatened as he took out his sword.

"What are you talking about she's **MINE**!" Kankuro replied until Miki bit his hand and ran to hide behind Gaara.

"Agh!" the puppeteer hollered. "Why you little..."

"Kankuro" Gaara interrupted "be quiet and let's go already."

Kankuro shuts his mouth and follows the rest through the gates. They head towards the hospital but not without going unnoticed.

"Hey is that the Kazekage's daughter?" whispered a lady.

"I didn't even know he had a daughter" said another.

"Aww…they make such a cute family" a woman said to her husband.

As they continue to walk through the village the whispers and awwws continue, as well as the shouts from Kankuro. "They're **NOT** married!"

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**I hoped you liked the chapter and the new character. I bet you didn't see that coming huh? Anyways, as always PLEASE review (if you can I mean). **

Miki: Daddy!

Kankuro: You called

Miki: You're not my daddy you big meanie!

Kankuro: Gasp! How can you not know who your real father is?! …you hurt my feelings!

hyugaheiress: Feelings?! What feelings? You don't have any feelings!

Kankuro: Miki…I am your father. (Says it in a Darth Vader voice)

Miki: Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! ….just kidding…I know you're not my real daddy…

hyugaheiress: That's right….your real father is…well he's actually dead…but your "daddy" is Gaara.


	6. The Bet within The Bet

Sorry guys for not updating sooner, it's just that I've been busy with school and other stuff. But now that we are finally off on break for the holidays I have time to write. Although I hadn't had anytime to update during that time I did manage to write a one shot titled **Meet the Hyugas**…it involves the chibi versions of Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, Neji…etc….so yeah if you want to check it out it's there.. Anyways I hope you like this chapie.

Warning: major OOCness, also sorry for any bad grammar and spelling-I suck at that.

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto; if I did I wouldn't be writing here.

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**The Bet within The Bet**

Chapter 6

After having visited the doctor Hinata, Gaara, Miki, and Kankuro were now on their way to the Kazekage manor.

Miki was walking ahead of Kankuro and Hinata as she dragged Gaara along by the hand to see toys and other items that market vendors were selling nearby. Miki seemed really excited and happy while Gaara kept on his cool demeanor.

"Oooohhhh, look at that daddy! Miki likes those toys." Miki continued to drag Gaara along the street. Gaara didn't seem to mind though, seeing as he bought her a toy.

"I don't know why she's calling him daddy when I'm her real daddy," murmured a pouting Kankuro.

"What was that Kankuro-san?" Hinata asked.

"Uh I asked what the doctor said about Miki's condition," he replied. "SEEING AS I COULDN'T GO IN SINCE ONLY PARENTS ARE ALLOWED!"

When they had arrived at the hospital Kankuro was not allowed to go into the examining room. Only parents were allowed and since Miki kept claiming that her parents were Gaara and Hinata they were the only ones allowed in, despite Kankuro's protests. So basically Kankuro had to remain in the waiting room.

Hinata just smiled at Kankuro's childish behavior but then let out a sigh.

"Well, basically the doctor said the best thing to do was not to tell her the truth, to just play along. Her condition is a little unstable so any unwanted distress can create a problem," stated Hinata as she worriedly glanced at Miki. "The doctor said it was important for her not to get overwhelmed or exhausted so we need to try our best to make her comfortable."

"I see," responded the puppet master as he scratched the back of his head. He looked forward at Miki and Gaara again. 'Is that why Gaara is being nice? He's never been that nice to me or Temari before…or anyone for that matter.'

"Kankuro-san how much longer is the Kazekage manor? Miki-chan has walked a lot today so I don't want her to over exhaust herself."

Kankuro smiled. "Don't worry Hinata-chan we're almost there." He looked around and then noticed something. "Hey where did the monster go?"

"Oh the hospital didn't allow animals in so I had to dismiss Poplar."

"Yes!" cheered the puppeteer.

"But I might summon him back later since Miki-chan seems to really like him."

Kankuro winced at the thought and started to mentally cry. 'Noooo! Why me?!'

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5 minutes later they arrive at the Kazekage manor…

"This is it!" yelled an overly excited Kankuro. "Home sweet home!"

They stood directly in front of the manor. Hinata surveyed what was to be her home for one week while Miki just looked on in awe.

"Wow daddy, Miki thinks it's big!" said the little girl as she let go of Gaara's hand to explore the manor further.

"I think Hinata-chan should stay in a room close to mine so I can keep an eye on her," said Kankuro.

"No because the stench of your room will just seep through the walls and stink up her room," replied the red headed Kazekage.

"What?!" yelled Kankuro as he pointed an accusing finger at his brother. "You're just jealous because my room is the cleanest room in the entire manor!"

Gaara ignored his brother's comment. "Let's just give Hinata-san the guest bedroom that's _far_, _far_, _far_ away from your room."

"What about Miki, daddy?" the little girl asked tugging on his pants.

Gaara knelt down. "You can have the guest bedroom next to Hinata-san's."

"But, but…Miki is scared of the dark," Miki responded as tears started to form in her big hazel green eyes. "Miki doesn't want to stay by herself. Can Miki stay with you and mommy?"

Gaara's eyes widened. "Uh well…"

Hinata turned cherry red at her daughter's comment. She was glad that it was dark outside so no one noticed the color of her face.

"Um...Miki-chan can stay with me in my room." Hinata was finally able to speak up after she regained her composure.

"Yeay!" yelled Miki.

"Can I sleep with Hinata-chan too?" asked Kankuro in a childlike voice as he put on puppy dog eyes anime style.

"No you can't. Do you want Miki-chan to have nightmares?" responded Gaara. "Besides you're too fat to fit on the bed, you'll probably squish her," he added as a smirk rose across his face.

"I'm not fat I'm just big boned!" Kankuro shot back. "You just wish you could have this sexy body!"

"I think you've mistaken sexy with deformed," stated Gaara in a nonchalant manor.

"Daddy," Miki tugged on his pants again. "That fat man isn't going to sleep with Miki and mommy right. Miki doesn't want to get squished!"

"Don't worry, he isn't. Why would he sleep with you and Hinata-san when he supposedly has the cleanest room in the entire manor to sleep in."

Just as Kankuro was about to respond to his brother's comment, Hinata spoke up.

"Guys please stop fighting."

"We're not fighting Hinata-chan," responded the puppet master. "Gaara's just jealous because I have so much power and influence." Kankuro turned towards the metal gates that they had passed at the entrance to the manor. "Just watch." He snapped his fingers at the guards that stood at the gate. "Come and carry Hinata-chan's luggage inside."

The guards just looked at each other and then burst out laughing

Kankuro snapped his fingers again. "I **said** COME AND CARRY HINATA-CHAN'S LUGGAGE INSIDE!"

The guards just laughed even harder.

Gaara was getting tired of his brother's stupidity. He turned towards the guards and stated, "Take the luggage inside."

"Right away Kazekage-sama," responded two guards as they quickly made their way towards Gaara. The other guards stood at attention, awaiting orders.

"That was so cool daddy! Can you ask them to bring Miki an ice cream cone?" she asked as she tugged his hand.

"You heard her," declared Gaara.

"Yes Kazekage-sama," affirmed another body guard. He quickly poofed away leaving only smoke behind.

"Show off!" Kankuro pouted.

The two guards who had Hinata's luggage stood at the door, waiting for the Kazekage to enter first.

"Gaara-san, as a thank you for your hospitality I will make sure the manor stays clean and also take care of Miki-chan….seeing as you will be busy with important official business regarding Suna." Hinata bowed and added, "I will try me best to not impose on you."

"Oh Hinata-chan, you don't have to be so formal, it's just Gaara," said Kankuro.

Hinata blushed. She couldn't help but be formal. As a Hyuga she had always been taught to remain respectful and courteous, especially to village heads like the Hokage and the Kazekage.

"Besides," Kankuro added. "You don't have to worry about the cleaning; you're a guest after all. I'll do all the cleaning for you. I'm a cleaning machine remember."

"More of a dirty machine, you've never even picked up a broom in your life" uttered Gaara.

"What ever Gaara, my room is super clean." He looked at Hinata and did a Gai-sensei pose. He stuck out his thumb and his teeth did a slight ping.

"We should have gotten your head examined at the hospital too. Do you even know what the meaning of clean is," remarked Gaara.

The puppet master shot a death glare at his brother.

Gaara just scoffed it off. "Let's go inside already. I bet Hinata-san wants to see your room since you claim that it's so clean."

"WHAT??!!" Kankuro's eyes widened.

"Kankuro-san is your room really that clean?" asked Hinata.

"Uh I…I mean wait here guys," announced Kankuro as he ran inside the Kazekage manor.

"Miki thinks that man is weird." Miki latched on to Gaara's hand.

"What's he doing?" Hinata questioned.

"I knew it, he's cleaning his room," smirked Gaara.

One of the guards let out a laugh. "That moron is finally cleaning his room after a year."

"Ewww! That man with the paint is dirty," yelled Miki.

Ruckus was heard coming from the house along with the noise of glass shattering and loud thumps. This caused all of them to sweat drop.

"What's with all the noise?" asked the blonde haired guard that had been sent to retrieve the ice cream cone.

"Yeay! Ice cream!" yelled Miki as the guard handed her the cone.

"Kankuro is cleaning his room," stated Gaara.

"What?!...it's the apocalypse!" The guard looked up at the manor in disbelief and sure enough the light was on in one of the rooms. You could barely make out that it was Kankuro; he was scrambling around the room so fast that he looked more like a blur than anything else. The guard chuckled, "Well, with any luck maybe he might find the maid who disappeared last week. She could be buried in all that junk."

This caused everyone to laugh, except for Gaara that is. He's too cool for that so he just smirked.

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The Next day….

"Agh." Hinata yawned as she got up from the bed. She looked at Miki who was still asleep on the other side of the bed. Miki was hugging a brown bear that was onceGaara's when he was small. The lavender eyed kunoichi smiled at the scene.

The Hyuga heiress then surveyed the room. It was rather spacious with white colored walls, a golden oak floor, expensive looking white dressers, a walk in closet, and a huge bathroom. The bed was a king size, the sheets were made of silk, and the pillows were filled with goose feathers. The room looked extravagant enough for a king; it reminded her of some of the rooms from the Hyuga manor.

Hinata then proceeded to the bathroom to change into her usual attire. After this she tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake Miki, and proceeded out into the hall.

'Wow this place is enormous,' she thought. The lavender eyed kunoichi wandered around until she located the stairs. The stairs was an enormous spiral stair case so it took at least a minute and a half just to get all the way down. This was the least of her worries, however, since she had trouble finding the kitchen.

After about five minutes of wandering aimlessly around she located the kitchen. It was as unbelievable as the rest of the manor, with expensive looking cooking equipment.

As she made her way further into the kitchen she saw a man whom she assumed was the chef.

The chef noticed her. "Excuse me young lady, but can you please wait outside?" The chef looked very tired and looked like he could fall asleep any minute.

"Are you ok sir, you look rather tired," asked Hinata.

"Oh it just that I haven't gotten enough sleep lately. I would've stayed in bed but our other chef is away so I have to make breakfast this morning."

"Um well I can make the breakfast if you want. That way you can go back to sleep," suggested Hinata.

"What?! No, I couldn't let you do that. You are **the Kazekage's wife** after all."

"Um well you see about me being the Kazekage's wif..."

Hinata was cut off. "Besides how would it look if the Kazekage's wife is doing **my** job, what would he say," the chef stated.

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Besides I like cooking, it relaxes me, and this way you can rest."

The chef smiled. "Thank you very much," he stated as he bowed to Hinata. And with that he left the heiress to proceed with the cooking.

5 minutes later…

Kankuro had woken up and made his way towards the kitchen but did not enter it. From the door he yelled, "Yo cook, **hurry up** with my food!"

"Okay Kankuro-san," replied Hinata.

"That voice sounds like…nah the cook must be getting sick," stated Kankuro the baka who didn't realize who he had been yelling at.

He made his way to the dining room to sit down. At that moment Miki walked in rubbing her eyes.

"Agh," she yawned. She stood at the entrance, rubbed her eyes once more, and then completely opened her eyes. She looked up, took one look at Kankuro, and…

"AHHH!" screamed Miki. She pointed at the puppet master. "LA LLORONA, EL CHUPACABRA, BIG FOOT!!!!" Miki looked as if she was about to cry.

"Huh what?" asked a confused Kankuro.

"Cover your eyes," said Gaara coming into the dining room.

Miki did as she was told and covered up her hazel green eyes.

"Kankuro go take a shower," declared the Kazekage.

"What?! Why for?! What's wrong with me," questioned the puppeteer.

"Look at yourself," replied Gaara.

Kankuro had wild messy hair, drool stains on both sides of his mouth, and smeared paint all over his face. He looked scary with a capital S. No wonder poor innocent little Miki had mistaken him for la llorona, el chupacabra, and big foot.

"Finished," stated Hinata as she made her way in the room with a tray full of food. "I'm sorry for taking so long Kankuro-san, I finished as fast as I could," she stammered as she tried to catch her breath with her gaze locked on the breakfast tray.

Gaara shot Kankuro a death glare upon hearing the statement.

Hinata had rushed and tried her best to cook quickly after Kankuro had yelled at her to hurry up. She was a little tired from all the running she had to do, since the kitchen was so big.

"Uh…Hinata-chan it was you who was cooking?" asked an embarrassed Kankuro.

Hinata turned towards Kankuro, took one look at him, and "Ahh," she shrieked. She was so shocked that she dropped the tray. Luckily Gaara quickly caught it just in time.

"Kan…Kankuro-san is that you?" asked Hinata.

"Uh yeah," grinned the puppet master sheepishly.

"Oh um…I'm sorry for almost dropping the food," said Hinata trying not to stare.

"Kankuro," Gaara interrupted. "Hurry up and take a shower before I lose my appetite."

Kankuro quickly got up and made his way out of the room.

"Um daddy can Miki take her hands off her face already?"

"Yeah," replied Gaara as he took a seat. Miki followed and hoisted herself up to sit in her "daddy's" lap.

Gaara was surprised at Miki's action but quickly shrugged it off.

"Sorry about Kankuro's appearance, I should have warned you. That is how he wakes up everyday."

"Oh that's okay," said Hinata as she served him breakfast.

20 minutes later…

"Hey guys I'm back," announced Kankuro as he made his way in the room. "I'm sorry about earlier Hinata-chan," he stated shaking his hair. "Uh where did Gaara go?"

"That's okay Kankuro-san," replied Hinata. "Oh and Gaara-san left, he had an important meeting with the council." Hinata grabbed another pancake. "You're food is served next to Miki-chan."

Kankuro sat beside Miki, who was playing with her food.

Miki turned towards Kankuro. "Stupid fatty man. You scared me," she declared while she stuck out her tongue at him.

"Kankuro-san, would you mind accompanying us to the store after breakfast to buy Miki-chan some clothes," expressed Hinata getting up from her chair. "Gaara-san left us money to do so," she added picking up the dirty plates.

"Okay sure, anything for you Hinata-chan. But you know, as the father **I** should be the one to buy her clothes," answered the puppeteer while he chewed with his mouth open.

"Miki says not to chew with your mouth open while talking…and you're not my daddy," informed the little girl.

"What would you please…" Kankuro starts to choke.

Cough. Cough. Hack. Hack.

Kankuro quickly took a drink of orange juice to clear his throat.

"Miki told you so," she boasted.

'I'll get you one day you little brat for making me look bad in front of Hinata-chan,' thought the puppet master.

After an eventful breakfast the three of them headed out to the shops to buy Miki clothes since she didn't have any.

As they made their way through the village people continued to stare and point at Miki and Hinata. They both didn't seem to mind though since they were to busy looking for a good shop.

They continued their way down the road until they saw a store that caught their eye. The three made their way into the big shop that was named Suna Suave.

Hinata made her way in with Miki, since she was holding her hand, followed by Kankuro. As soon as they entered they were greeted by a lady who looked to be about thirty years.

"Good afternoon," the sales lady stated. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well," Hinata answered. "We're looking for clothes for Miki-chan," she continued while she gestured towards Miki.

"I have just the perfect thing, oh and you may call me Emiko." Emiko went off towards the back of the shop and came back with a pile of clothes. "Let her try these on."

"Uh…" said Hinata.

"They are made from the finest fabric their is and these others," Emiko stated showing her some dresses, "are made from the softest silk imaginable."

"Wow, Miki thinks that dress is pretty!"

"Oh and of course all these clothes are free of charge for the Kazekage's daughter and wife," informed Emiko.

Before Hinata could say anything she and Miki were swarmed with people measuring their sizes.

"Hey Emiko," stated Kankuro trying to make his way through the crowd. "I'll like to buy these shirts."

"It's Mrs. Nagahara to you and that will be 50 bucks," replied Emiko.

"WHAT?! That's not fair, how come they get free clothes?!" yelled Kankuro.

"Because they are the wife and daughter of the leader of our village, you on the other hand are nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?! I'm his brother!" replied the puppet master.

Emiko ignored him and took out her hand which meant for him to pay up.

"Fine, but I still think it's unfair," muttered Kankuro as he took out his money to pay her.

Pretty soon Hinata's and Miki's bags were full with dresses, kimonos, shoes, bracelets, and other very expensive clothes.

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"Wow," said Hinata. "We got all those clothes for free. People around here are sure nice."

"Yeay!" yelled Miki as she licked the lollipop that Emiko had given her.

The clothing store had even insisted on taking all their bags directly to the Kazekage manor so they would not have to bother with the task of carrying them around.

"You both are lucky, I had to pay for all of my clothes," pouted Kankuro. "And they didn't want to carry my bags back to the manor so now I have to carry them around," he added with a sad tone.

"It's okay fat man," answered Miki patting him on the leg.

"Hey since we still have the money that Gaara-san gave us why don't we go buy some groceries," suggested the Hyuga heiress. "I can cook diner tonight since the chef isn't feeling that well."

"Good idea, let's go," replied Kankuro leading the way to the grocery store.

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Meanwhile back in Konoha…

"Why the hell did Hinata-chan have to leave anyway!!" yelled a very impatient Ino.

"Take it easy," replied Tsunade.

Ino had come to Tsunade's office to discuss the reason for Hinata's departure. She was sitting on a chair directly in front of the Hokage who was sitting at her desk.

Tsunade took out a bottle of Sake and poured herself some in a cup.

"Tell me why already." Ino was growing impatient with the legendary sanin.

Tsunade took a sip. "Well to tell you the truth I kind of made a bet…ha," stated Tsunade trying to laugh it off.

"What?! A bet? Why in the world would you do that?" questioned Ino.

"Well the thing is that…well I was drunk," conveyed the Hokage.

"WHAT?!" screamed Ino. "You made Hinata-chan leave all because of a silly bet you made," she asked getting up form her chair.

"Keep it down," stated Tsunade. "It's just not some silly bet; it's about me losing my money."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh and also this is a chance for Hinata-chan to find true love," the Hokage added.

"Uh…what?" asked the blonde haired blue eyes kunoichi as she began to calm down.

"Well…" began Tsunade before someone came into the office.

"Hey Hokage-sama what do you expect me to do here in Konoha? It's so boring," said Temari. She looked at the scene before her. "Uh am I interrupting something?"

"Anyways tell me why Hinata-chan has to go stay with that freak, Kankuro?" asked Ino.

"Hey who are you calling a freak…well wait never mind Kankuro is a freak…but don't worry geez, Gaara is there so he'll keep him under control," spoke Temari.

"I know that but what worries me is what Tsunade-sama said about wanting Hinata-chan to fall in love. I hope you are not implying Kankuro," declared Ino looking from Temari to Tsunade.

Tsunade poured herself another cup of sake.

"The only guys there are Gaara-sama and that freak with the makeup," said Ino.

"And so…what's your point," replied Tsunade.

"Well I would figure you would want the best for one of your best students, not to mention she is a **Hyuga**," conveyed Ino.

"All right all right now be quiet because you're giving me a head ache." Tsunade put her hand on her head and took another doze of sake. "I guess I'll tell you everything."

Ino and Temari sat down to listen to the explanation.

10 minutes later…

"So you made a bet with Jiraiya-sama," questioned Temari. "And the guys he chose were Gaara and Sasuke," she added making sure she had understood everything perfectly.

"Correct," answered Tsunade.

"Gaara-sama and Sasuke-kun, wow that is going to be difficult," alleged Ino. "Hey, wait now that you brought up Sasuke-kun, well I think he likes Hinata-chan."

"What?...Sasuke?" questioned the Hokage.

"No way!" interrupted Temari. "That cold hearted bastard Sasuke."

"Yeah what's wrong with that?" asked Ino. "Hinata would make a better couple with Sasuke-kun than with the Kazekage; remember he did try to kill people."

"That was a long time ago!" replied Temari. "Besides at least he's the Kazekage!"

"Well at least Sasuke is better looking and from one of the most powerful and influential clans in Konoha, just like Hinata's clan," Ino shot back.

"Well at least..."

"Be quiet!!" yelled Tsunade.

"She started it," stated Temari pointing at Ino.

"Nuh uh it was you," the blonde shot back now getting out of her seat.

"No it was you, you started talking about who would Hinata end up with," replied Temari while looking at Ino. She too got up from her seat.

"Well I'm not lying about the fact that Hinata-chan will end up with Sasuke-kun. I'm merely stating the truth."

"How do you know?! What if she ends up with Gaara," Temari questioned.

"Girls be quiet," said Tsunade as she started to drink the sake directly form the bottle now.

The girls ignored her comment and were now in each other's faces.

"How much you want to bet that Hinata-chan will end up with Sasuke-kun," Ino stated as a matter of factly.

"Well I bet you 10,000yen that Hinata and Gaara will end up together!" screamed Temari.

"You're on," stated Ino as she shook Temari's hand.

"Well I'm leaving, I should start planning my strategy not to mention make a list of things that I'm going to buy when I win," laughed the sand sibling. 'This is awesome…with that money I can buy all sorts of things…but will Hinata like Gaara? I'll just have to make her fall in love with him,' thought Temari as she left the office.

Ino was about to follow Temari's example and leave as well but was stopped by Tsunade's comment.

"We'll you both made a bet too," said the Hokage. "You know that I can help you right," she added.

"Really?" Ino questioned. "Because I don't know how to make Hinata-chan like Sasuke-kun."

"Don't worry I'll think of something," replied Tsunade. "Hey do you know about the upcoming Suna festival?"

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"What? A festival?" questioned Hinata looking at a flyer with her left hand while she held Miki's hand with her right.

"What…you didn't know we were having a festival," stated Kankuro as he carried a bag of groceries.

"Nope, what is it for? Is there something special about it?" asked the Hyuga heiress.

"It's the annual moon festival. We have many games, performances, and last but not least tons of moon cakes," said Kankuro as drool ran down his mouth. Just thinking about the moon cakes made his mouth water. "The festival is more of a remembrance based festival than a tradition based. This is because on a night when the full moon was glowing unusually bright and majestic," he added as he stood up straight with honor. "We won a war that had dragged on for 8 long years. So it is on this day that we remember and honor the many shinobi who lost their lives and fought for our village."

"That's a good way to remember the shinobi," smiled Hinata.

"Yeah, plus there's **moon cakes**!" Kankuro affirmed. "Plus every year Temari does a fan dance but since she is not here this year you and I can perform something."

"She's not going to perform with you, she's going to perform with daddy," said Miki as a matter of factly.

"No!! Hinata-chan is going to perform with **me**." Kankuro pointed to himself. "because **I'm** her husband!"

Just then an unfamiliar voice filled the air. "Stop torturing that girl."

All three turned around to see where the voice had come from. Their eyes came upon a teenage girl. She had short black hair, large dark blue eyes, and was dressed in an ANBU uniform that had a long black cape.

"Oh it's Amelia," stated Kankuro with disgust while also giving her the evil eye.

Amelia ignored the puppeteer's rude manners and turned to look at Hinata. "Hello my name is Amelia Harada."

"Nice to meet you Amelia-san, my name is Hinata Hyuga."

"What about Miki, mommy?" asked the little girl jumping up and down.

"Oh and this is Miki-chan," added the Hyuga heiress.

"Oh hello their," said Amelia kneeling down. She patted Miki on the head. "Is she yours? I heard you're the Kazekage's wife and so that means that Miki-chan is his too right."

"Uh…well you see...um." Hinata turned crimson red; she didn't know how to explain.

"They're **NOT** together!!" interrupted a very angry Kankuro.

Amelia ignored his comment. "Hey Kankuro baka I heard that you cleaned your room yesterday for the first time in a year. The whole town is talking about the miracle. I was shocked when I heard the news," she laughed. "I'm telling you something bad is going to happen because of this," Amelia added now laughing even harder.

The puppet master just shot a death glare at the female ANBU.

"You must really know Kankuro-san if you know that he hasn't cleaned his room in over a year," giggled Hinata.

"Yeah," replied a laughing Amelia. "Kankuro baka wanted to be an ANBU so he went to the same class as I did. Fortunately for Suna he didn't get qualified to become one," she added while smirking.

"Why you lit..." screamed the sand sibling as he made his way near her.

"Gotta go," the female ANBU replied as she poofed away to avoid an angry Kankuro.

"An ANBU?" questioned Hinata.

"Miki wants to know why the fat man didn't get to be an anchovy?"

"It's ANBU not anchovy!!...and I was too good for that organization anyway," he added as a matter of fact.

"Miki says whatever you say big foot."

"When is the festival," asked Hinata trying to avoid an argument between Miki and Kankuro.

"It's on the last day of your stay," said Kankuro with tears in his eyes anime style.

"Oh no wonder people are decorating their shops."

People were running left and right. Stores were decorated extravagantly while others made it look like a carnival was located inside. It sure looked like it was going to be a fun festival.

"Yeay! Miki can't wait for the festival!"

"Yeah me either," said Hinata.

"I **can** wait. That is the last day you are going to spend with me before you go back to Konoha," cried an overly dramatic Kankuro. "Come on lets go home already, I'm getting depressed."

And with that all three head home to the Kazekage manor.

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Back at Konoha…

"Wow that sounds like fun," expressed Ino. "Can we go?"

"Yeah, the Kazekage invited us since this would keep relations with this village at ease," informed the Hokage. "So I'll leave it up to you to inform the rest of the rookie nine about the festival."

"Ok sure," replied the blonde. "Oh I just realized something; I can use this festival to bring Sasuke-kun and Hinata-chan closer."

"What do you mean?" questioned Tsunade as curiosity filled within her.

"Well I don't have to worry about Hinata-chan getting closer to Gaara-sama because that freak Kankuro will get in the way of that. So, Kankuro's crush works to my advantage, all I have to do is make sure that as soon as we get there I make Hinata-chan fall in love with Sasuke-kun."

"I see," responded Tsunade. 'This also can work to my advantage. Since Temari and Ino made a bet on who would Hinata end up with this means that there will be a for sure outcome thus meaning I will win my bet either way. Ha I got you now Jiraiya pervert.'

"Now all I have to do is think of a plan to make Hinata-chan fall in love with Sasuke-kun."

"I think I can help you with that," replied Tsunade as a smirk rose across her face.

The blonde kunoichi and Hokage remained talking as they tried to figure out a plan to win their bet.

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**PLEASE REVIEW!!** or else Kankuro won't clean his room ever again, haha. Oh and I know I was capping on Kankuro a lot, but it's not because I hate him, I just like messing with him. The only character I hate is Sakura…which brings me to another thing. There might be some Sakura bashing later on so heads up to you Sakura lovers.

**Oh and for you people who asked if this was now a GaaraxHinata fic, No it's not. Sasuke is still going to come out so don't worry guys. It's just that these chapies are kind of a Gaara arc so that means later on there will be a Sasuke arc. This also means that later on there will be a poll on who ya'll think she should end up with. So I guess you can start thinking about that…but don't tell me yet ok.**

Miki: Miki says to please review; I don't want the fat man to stink up the manor.

Kankuro: Whatever little girl

Miki: Agh la llorona, el chupacabra, big foot!!

Gaara: I don't know who all those guys are but I would rather have all of them as siblings than Kankuro.

Kankuro: You're just jealous because you can't be beautiful as me!

Gaara: --

hyugaheiress: Beautiful?! Ha don't make me laugh….more like deformed.


	7. Cleaning Rooms, Swimming Pools, & A Kank

**Well guys here's another chapter and to make up for my late update I decided to make this chapie a lot longer….and I mean extremely longer. Now that I'm off on spring break I actually had time to finish and type out this chapter so yippee for Spring Break! Anyways, hope you guys like this chapie!**

Also thank you guys for all your kind reviews. The reviews make my day!

Note: I will answer some reviews at the end of this chapter.

hyugaheiress: Miki-chan, disclaimer please.

Miki: double H doesn't own Naruto. Wait, who is Naruto? I haven't met him.

hyugaheiress: Well, he's sort of like Kankuro baka.

Miki: Ewww! I don't like him then!

'**_..'-thoughts are italicized_**

"…"**-talking**

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**Cleaning Rooms, Swimming Pools, & A Kankuro-Free Day**

Chapter 7

"Ready?" asked Hinata as she grabbed her bucket full of cleaning equipment.

"Yes, Miki is ready mommy," responded the little girl as she grabbed her miniature bucket full of cleaning supplies.

Hinata and Miki were currently standing outside a certain puppet master's bedroom.

Earlier that morning Kankuro had left with Gaara to attend a meeting with the Suna council. Hinata and Miki decided to take this opportunity to do a little "spring cleaning".

It was already noon and the two had managed to clean most of the manor, with the help of some maids of course. The only major room left was Kankuro's. Unfortunately for Hinata, all of the maids refused to go in. They had heard the tale of the one maid who had disappeared in his room for an entire week. They were too horrified to even come near the room.

So now the job was left to Hinata and Miki.

"Mommy, Miki is scared," cried Miki as she latched on to Hinata's leg.

"Don't worry Miki-chan. It can't be **that** bad in there," replied the lavender eyed kunoichi while trying to reassure herself of what she had just said.

Hinata gripped the handle of the bucket and took a deep breath before she placed her hand on the door knob. She gently turned the knob and pushed the door in. Taking another deep breath, Hinata made her way in, followed by Miki, only to come upon….

"Ahhhhh," they both screamed.

A large, hairy grey rat had scurried past them and out the door.

"Ewwww! The fat man is nasty mommy!" yelled Miki as she tightly hung to Hinata's leg.

"How…how could there be a r…ra…rat when Kankuro-san had just cleaned his room two days ago?" questioned Hinata with slight disgust.

After getting over he rat scare Hinata surveyed her surroundings.

Kankuro's room was beyond the word nasty. His room didn't even look like it belonged to this universe. There was clothes scattered everywhere, junk food that was half eaten spread across the floor, some form of green goop plastered on the walls, an array of purple paint smeared on the furniture, a trail of rat droppings around his bed, dirty underwear stacked on the TV, big balls of dust bunnies near the corner of the room, a pack of cockroaches crawling in and around his bed, and the most horrible stench coming from the bathroom. And this was just half of it, but I'll save you rest of the gruesome details. Let's just say that what I just described was the most sanitary things about his room.

"The fat man's room got dirty fast," stated Miki as she looked around the room.

"Well," Hinata began, "I guess we'll just have to make sure he doesn't get his room dirty that fast this time."

"Right," responded Miki with confidence as she made her way further within the room. _'Daddy will be proud of me for not being scared of the fat man's dirt room.'_

Miki tried to make it through the room but there was too much junk that she could barely walk. Suddenly something caught her leg. "Aghh! Something's grabbing Miki's leg mommy!! It's the cookie monster!!!"

"It's ok Miki-chan, it's just the clothes." Hinata pulled Miki out of the pile and motioned her towards the wall. "How about you take care of that goop on the wall while I clean the floor," stated Hinata flashing Miki a smile.

"Ok mommy," replied Miki as she gave her mother a smile.

"Alright then, let's get cleaning," said Hinata as she pulled out disinfectant swipes and some gloves.

5 hours later…

"Finished," spat out an exhausted Hinata.

"Miki is so tired mommy," said Miki as she let herself fall on the floor.

This time it was safe for her to do so since the floor was spotless. It actually even sparkled. In fact the whole room seemed to sparkle. Not only that, but the horrible stench was also gone.

"You did a great job Miki-chan. How about we go buy some ice cream as a reward?"

"Yay!! Ice cream!!" yelled Miki.

"But how about we first take a shower?"

Miki looked at her clothes. They were covered in gunk and god knows what else. "Good idea mommy. I don't want the fat man's germs on me."

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"Mmmm, Miki likes rocky road ice cream!"

Hinata and Miki were making their way back to the manor after they had purchased some ice cream cones at a nearby vendor.

"Mommy you should have gotten rocky road like Miki."

Hinata giggled. "Rocky road is too messy for me," replied the kunoichi as she pulled out a handkerchief to clean Miki's ice cream plastered face. "Besides, I prefer vanilla."

After a couple of minutes of more walking they came upon a group of kids practicing ballet. They seemed like they were currently running through a routine so Hinata and Miki decided to stay and watch.

After the girls finished they both clapped.

"Oh hello," stated a female instructor, "I didn't know we had an audience."

"Hello," replied both mother and daughter in unison.

"What are you all practicing for?" asked Hinata.

"Oh well the kids are practicing ballet for their performance at the Suna festival. Except they're a little bit nervous since they have to perform the routine in front of the Kazekage and his council first."

"Miki wants to do that too!" yelled Miki while tugging on Hinata's pants.

"Are you sure Miki-chan?" questioned the lavender eyed kunoichi.

"Yeah! I want to perform in front of daddy!" yelled Miki with enthusiasm.

"Oh wait, are you the Kazekage's daughter?!" the female instructor asked.

"Well she uh…" Hinata began.

"I want to perform in front of daddy!"

"We would be honored to have the Kazekage's daughter perform with us," smiled the instructor. "In fact Miki-chan can start right now."

"Yay!!!" Miki began jumping up and down.

"Well if Miki-chan really wants too then I suppose so," smiled Hinata as she watched Miki befriend some girls who looked to be around her age. "Oh but she doesn't have the proper clothes."

"That's ok," responded the instructor, "She can just use what she has right now. We'll get her measured for her costume tomorrow."

Hinata nodded and with that made her way to a nearby bench to watch Miki and the others practice the routine. _'Wow, Miki-chan can sure pick up the steps really quick.'_

After a couple of minutes the lavender eyed kunoichi's mind began to wander away from the performance while her gaze remained on Miki. _'Miki-chan has sure been through a lot. She's such a sweet little girl…and she's certainly made my stay here a lot more interesting. And Gaara-san has been really good to her even though he's not really her father. But…how much more can this last? After the festival I will be leaving back to Konoha and I don't think father will approve of me bringing back Miki as my daughter. He would probably say how having a "daughter" with out being married would bring shame to the family.' _Hinata moved her gaze towards the Kazekage manor that was further down the road._ 'But then again, I can't leave her with Gaara-san. He'll be too busy to take care of her. The only person she would see all the time is Kankuro-san and that would just lead to trouble.' _Hinata sighed and turned her gaze towards Miki once more.

Before she was able to become engulfed within her thoughts once more she was interrupted by none other than the baka of Suna.

"Hey Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?" asked Kankuro as he made his way towards her followed by (the oober hot) Gaara.

"Oh hey Kankuro-san, Gaara-san," replied Hinata as she stood up. "I'm just waiting for Miki-chan to finish."

"What is Miki doing?" Gaara questioned.

"Oh she's rehearsing for the ballet recital that they will be performing at the festival," responded the Hyuga heiress. She turned to look directly at Gaara and smiled, "Miki wanted to perform in front of her daddy."

Before Gaara could respond Kankuro beat him to it.

"Oh she doesn't have to perform in front of me."

"Um Kankuro-san, I uh wasn't referring to you."

"You're not her father you baka," retorted Gaara.

"Yes I am," replied Kankuro under his breath so his sibling couldn't hear him.

Gaara just rolled his eyes.

Suddenly Kankuro's face lit up. "Speaking of performing…how about Hinata-chan and I perform something at the festival too." Kankuro placed his finger on his chin in a thinking position. "Hmm, let's see…I know!...Let's dance!"

Before Hinata could reply Gaara gave her some advice. "Don't perform with him."

Kankuro shot Gaara a death glare.

"Last time he had a partner, she went straight to the emergency room after the performance."

"WHAT!! Hey it was an accident! It wasn't my fault that she couldn't dance," retorted Kankuro.

"She was a world renowned dancer. It's you who can't dance," informed Gaara as a smirk spread across his face.

"Yes I can! I'll show you!" Kankuro began to dance wildly. He tried to do the most sophisticated dance moves. Keyword: TRIED. He decided to really impress Hinata by doing a big sprint. He jumped really high and…..

landed on a poor defenseless old lady. "Agh! Get him off!"

Kankuro quickly got off, unaware that he had hurt the lady, and continued to dance, while hitting people in the process. With every twirl there was an arm broken and with every sprint there were ribs broken. For other people that is. His little dance number just ended up getting people sent to the hospital.

Hinata just stood there horrified by the scene. "Kank…Kankuro-san please STOP."

"You were that impressed by my lovely dancing huh?" boasted the puppet master as he ended his little dance number.

"More like **horrified**," snorted Gaara.

"You're just jealous," yelled Kankuro as he did a "whatever" sign with his hand and placed it in front of Gaara's face.

Gaara just scoffed it off.

"Please don't fight guys."

"Ok I won't beat up Gaara, Hinata-chan." The puppeteer looked at Gaara, "You're lucky that Hinata-chan is holding me back."

The red haired teenager just rolled his eyes. _'Like he could ever beat me up.'_

"I wonder if Miki-chan is almost finished practicing. It's getting really hot." Hinata sat back down on the bench and fanned herself with her hand.

"Oh yeah, you're not used to feeling the summer heat of Suna. Gaara and I are used to this heat already so it doesn't really bother us."

Gaara looked up at the sky. "But it is unusually hot today."

"I know!" yelled an enthusiastic Kankuro. "How about we go to the pool tomorrow, Hinata-chan?"

"The pool?" questioned Hinata.

"Yeah, it's a public pool though," replied the puppet master, "Seeing as how Gaara refuses to have a pool installed at the manor."

"There's no need for one," remarked the Kazekage. He navigated his gaze towards Miki. "But then again it has been unusually hot. Perhaps we should install one after all."

"That's what I've been saying all along," yelled Kankuro in a "know-it-all" manner.

"Yeah but that was you so I refused," replied Gaara as a smirk spread across his face.

'_Damn you Gaara!_' thought Kankuro as he gave Gaara a death glare. "Anyways, I don't think we have a meeting of any sort tomorrow. Right Gaara?"

Gaara nodded.

"Yes! That means we can go!" shouted Kankuro.

"Great, I'll bet Miki-chan will enjoy it," responded Hinata with a smile.

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The Next Day…

The next morning Hinata was busily setting up the breakfast table while Miki practiced her ballet in the corner.

As Hinata placed the chocolate chip pancakes on the table Kankuro waltzed into the room.

"Hey Hinata-chan are you ready to go?" The puppet master already had on his dark purple trunks, beach towel draped on his shoulder, and a beach umbrella in one hand and sun tan lotion in the other.

"Um Kankuro-san shouldn't you have waited to change until we got there," questioned the Hyuga heiress as she served him breakfast.

"Yeah Kankuro, you're just going to end up blinding everybody when we walk out into the street," stated Gaara coming into the room.

"WHAT!?" yelled the puppeteer, "They're going to be **amazed** at what a beautiful skinny body I have!"

"Humph, don't make me laugh," Gaara shot back, as he sat down to eat his breakfast.

"Hey you're **fat**, fattyman," informed Miki. She was on the tip of her toes poking Kankuro's stomach.

"Don't touch him, he has an infection," stated Gaara in a nonchalant manor.

"Ewww!" screamed Miki as she ran towards Hinata.

After the whole "fattyman" ordeal they sat down to eat their breakfast.

Hinata was the first to finish, since she didn't have that much an appetite this morning, so she made her way upstairs to retrieve her and Miki's stuff.

When she came back downstairs she saw Gaara still seating in his seat reading the newspaper.

"Gaara-san, are you not coming?"

"No, I don't want to go," replied Gaara.

Miki, overhearing this, walked into the room. "Daddy is not going with mommy and Miki," inquired the little girl innocently.

"Don't worry Miki," the puppet master butt in, "Daddy Kankuro is coming!"

Miki's hazel, green eyes widened in horror, "NO!!" she yelled. "I want daddy to come!!"

"I said I was coming already," the puppeteer informed.

With that statement all hell broke lose!

"I want DADDY to come, NOT THE FATTY MAN!!!" Miki began to cry, "WAH!! Daddy doesn't like us anymore!"

"Don't cry Miki-chan, its okay," stated the kunoichi as she tried to pacify her daughter's wailing.

"NO!! I WANT DADDY TO COME WAH!!" she cried out loud.

"Fine," sighed Gaara as he got up from his chair to retrieve the items that he would need for today's outing.

-------------------

As they arrived at the entrance of the pool Miki began to get excited.

"Yay!" she shouted as she jumped up and down.

The four stood on a big, wide path that led further down and split in two. The path to the right led to the girl's changing rooms while the path to the left led to the guy's changing rooms. Once one stood in front of the changing rooms there was another path to the left that led you beyond the gated entrance and into the pool area.

"Ok how about we all go change and meet behind those gates on the other side," suggested Kankuro.

Everyone nodded in agreement and so Hinata and Miki made their way down the path to the right. The lavender eyed kunoichi analyzed the area that the pool was set on. There were beautiful long palm trees that followed the path they were on, a nice assorted amount of flowers, and a total of 10 swimming pools. This public pool was certainly more adorned and grand than the ones in Konoha.

After Miki and her mommy finished dressing they made their way around the gate to meet the two sand siblings. Only Kankuro was there however. Gaara hadn't finished changing.

"Wow Hinata-chan, you look so pretty!" expressed Kankuro in an excited tone. He took out his camera, "I knew I would need this," he conveyed as he began taking pictures of the porcelain skinned beauty.

Hinata was wearing a baby blue one piece swim suit that hugged her curves in all the right ways. Miki was wearing a pink one piece swim suit with dark pink frills that traced along her waist line.

"Um Kankuro-san the flash of the light is hurting my eyes."

Just as Kankuro was about to respond a loud amount of squeals emitted through the air. It turns out that the red headed Kazekage had exited his dressing room and was now headed towards his sibling, his "wife" and his "daughter".

As he neared the three a group of girls fainted at the sight of him. Hinata didn't know it was him however, since Kankuro was blocking her view…on purpose that is. It wasn't until he was directly in front of her that Hinata could see Gaara standing there in all his glory.

Gaara had on red swim trunks with black stripes on the sides. The red swim trunks honestly showed his kick ass 6 pack, which was probably the reason he had so many girls fainting and squealing.

Hinata couldn't help but stare, that is, until Gaara caught her gaze. The Hyuga quickly averted her head as a tint of red rose across her face. Thank god it was hot 'cause she could merely blame the heat for her tomato red face.

"Wow daddy, you have muscles!" declared Miki.

"Hey," Kankuro interrupted, "I have muscles too."

A blonde woman who had just happened to be passing by broke into a fit of laughter. "Yeah right, you wish you had muscles." She pointed at Gaara, "**He** has a **6 pack**," she then pointed at Kankuro, "and **you** merely have a **fat pack**." And with that said she walked off while trying not to die of laughter.

Hinata, hoping to avoid an argument between Kankuro and Gaara, spoke up. "Ok Miki-chan, let's go swimming in the kiddy pool."

The four then proceeded towards one of the numerous amounts of kiddy pools. They chose the one that was closest to a little rest area, which Gaara took advantage of, as he made his way towards the beach chair and sat down.

Hinata led Miki to the pool but once they got there the little girl just stood there staring at the water.

"Miki-chan, are you okay?"

"Um Miki is scared of the water," informed the little girl in a nervous tone.

"What? But we told you we were going to the pool," replied Hinata as she crouched down to Miki's level.

"Miki thought it was a game."

"Don't be scared Miki-chan, it's just water," Hinata stated in a reassuring voice. "It's the same as when you take a bath."

"But there is **a lot** of water," conveyed Miki taking a step back from the pool.

Hinata stood up and made her way into the water. The water seemed to reach her knees.

"Come on in Miki-chan," said Hinata in a soothing voice.

Miki got near the water and put her toe in. "Agh the water is cold." She backed away from the pool once more. "No, Miki doesn't want to go in."

Hinata made her way towards the edge of the pool and reached out for Miki. The kunoichi motioned for the little girl to come closer and she did. Hinata embraced Miki and whispered, "It's going to be okay." She then hoisted Miki up and placed her in the pool. The water reached up to her waist, which seemed to frighten her until Hinata cooed, "See, everything it alright."

Miki clung to Hinata's arm but slowly began to lighten the grip as she started to move around the pool a bit.

"Hey Miki," called Kankuro.

Miki turned around to face Kankuro but he wasn't there. All of a sudden the puppet master jumped from under the water and yelled, "BOO!"

"Ahhh! It's the Loch Ness monster!"

"Kankuro!" scolded Hinata. "Stop scaring Miki-chan."

"Sorry Hinata-chan," replied an embarrassed Kankuro.

The porcelain skinned kunoichi turned her attention back on Miki. "Come on honey, go under the water."

"No," the little girl pouted. She then averted her gaze to her father who was sitting on a chair under an umbrella reading a newspaper. "Miki wants daddy to come in here with mommy."

"Um," stated Hinata, "Kankuro, can you tell Gaara to please come in the water."

"Sure Hinata-chan." The puppet master then made his way towards his sibling.

"Hey Gaara, Hinata-chan wants you to come in the water," informed Kankuro.

"I don't swim," Gaara coolly replied.

Kankuro went back to Hinata. "He said that he's scared of the water."

"What? That cant' be what he said."

"It's word for word Hinata-chan."

"Well tell him it's for Miki-chan's sake."

"Ok," he answered as he made his way towards Gaara once again.

"She said to lose it or beat it. She hates you and Miki likes me more."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Kankuro you know that I can hear her right?"

"Uh," uttered Kankuro before he got hit on the head.

"I'm not that far way from her you baka!"

"Ok, my bad," cried Kankuro rubbing his head as he made his way towards Hinata once more.

"Hinata-chan he doesn't want to."

"Daddy doesn't want to be with me?" inquired Miki as tears began to form in her eyes. "WAH!!!" Tears were now falling down Miki's face while at the same time her crying seemed to become louder.

People around her either covered their ears or moved far, far away.

"WAH!!!!"

Just then a guard appeared next to Gaara. "Um Kazekage-sama, can you please tell your daughter not to cry? She's scaring off people." The guard practically had to yell what he had just said since Miki's cries became even louder, if that's possible.

"Miki-chan please don't cry." Hinata was trying to pacify her daughter's screams but to no avail.

"WAH!! I WANT MY DADDY!"

Gaara sighed. "Fine." He got up from his chair and walked towards Hinata and Miki. Once there he simply stepped into the pool.

Miki had now completely ceased from crying and put on a smile. "Yay! Thanks daddy!"

"Miki," stated Kankuro getting in the pool. "I'll be your instructor."

"Ok fat man," responded Miki.

"Ok, you have to think of this as if it were one huge bath," began Kankuro, "If you can take this you can take on anything," he added as he suddenly splashed her in the face with water.

Miki just stood there shocked, that is, until she began to cry. "Agh!"

"Miki-chan, don't cry," said Hinata.

The puppet master sighed, "This is going to be hard." Kankuro scratched his head for a moment before thinking of, can you believe it, a good idea. "Don't you want your mommy and daddy to be happy?" he asked Miki.

Miki stopped crying and looked back at Hinata and Gaara.

Hinata stood their smiling while Gaara just stood there, arms crossed, and with, if you look really hard, a small smile.

Miki couldn't help but smile. "Ok, Miki will do this for mommy and daddy!"

"Ready," Kankuro asked.

Miki nodded.

The puppet master then splashed her once again with water.

To his relief, and everyone else's, she didn't cry.

"Good, now the last step is to go under the water." Kankuro dove under the water. "See, like that," he stated once he came back up.

Miki nodded, took a deep breath, and dove under. After a couple of seconds under the water she came back up.

"Yay!! Miki did it."

"Miki-chan!! I'm so proud of you," yelled Hinata as she gave Miki a big hug.

"What about me?" inquired Kankuro.

"Thanks you very much Kankuro-san," stated Hinata as she gave him a hug as well.

The puppet master just blushed and hugged her back.

After about five minutes Hinata couldn't help but say, "Um Kankuro-san can you please let go?"

"Oh sorry," apologized Kankuro as he grudgingly let her go.

"Good job Miki," stated Gaara patting her on the head.

"Thanks daddy!"

"Aww, that's so sweet," exclaimed Hinata looking at Gaara.

'_Dam you Gaara! You're trying to steal Hinata-chan away from me!' _thought Kankuro. Just then the puppeteer heard people yelling "Jump! Jump!"

He looked towards where the noise was coming from. The noise emitted from the biggest adult pool, near a slide called The Exterminator.

People were yelling for the man, who was at the very top of The Exterminator, to jump. The person was too scared though so he made his way back down.

The puppet master then got an idea, a bad one this time. _'Maybe I can impress Hinata-chan with that.' _With this silly thought in mind the puppeteer made his way towards the adult pool.

Once there he began to climb the thirty foot high slide known as, **The Exterminator**.

Meanwhile Miki was still jumping up and down excitedly.

"Well I think that's enough excitement for one day," began Hinata, "It's getting late anyway. Why don't we go home already Gaara-san?"

"Ok," he replied, "But where's Kankuro baka?"

"Look some idiot is going to go down The Exterminator!" yelled a random man.

"Ah please don't let that be our idiot," sighed Gaara. He then turned around only to come upon his older sibling standing at the top of the slide.

Gaara made his way towards the pool, followed by Hinata and Miki.

"I'm going to jump," yelled Kankuro.

"Then jump already," screamed a man.

"I'm going to jump, I swear," yelled Kankuro once again. The puppet master was beginning to get scared once he saw how high he was up from the ground. He didn't really want to jump but he had to do it for Hinata!

"Jump! Jump! Jump!" everyone shouted.

"Miki says to jump fat man jump!"

"Miki-chan calm down," scolded Hinata.

Gaara was beginning to lose patience with his brother's stupidity. "Come down from there you baka!"

"Kankuro-san, please don't jump."

"Ok, anything for you Hinata-chan." As he turned around to go back down the slide, to meet his lovely Hinata, the baka accidentally slipped. This caused him to fall down the slide, instantly hit the water, and sink to the bottom of the pool.

"Baka," grunted Gaara as he dove into the shallow pool to save his dearest brother.

Within seconds the red haired teenager rose from the water with his brother draped on his left arm. Once he was near the edge of the pool, bystanders nearby helped him and the puppet master out.

Hinata then helped lay Kankuro on the floor. "Gaara-san I think we're going to have to use CPR on him."

"Wake up fat man!" yelled Miki as she jumped up and down on him.

This, however, didn't seem to wake the puppeteer.

'_Well I guess he really isn't faking it,' _the Kazekage thought. "Fine, I guess the only choice it to use CPR."

Little did everyone know that the puppet master had been awake all this time. Well awake, at least, after Miki had jumped up and down on him.

Upon hearing the word CPR Kankuro thought that Hinata would be the one to administer this procedure. _'Yes Hinata-chan will give me CPR and Gaara will be forced to watch…muahahaha. Agh, damn Miki, my ribs now hurt because of her.'_

Kankuro felt someone approach his face. He instantly blushed because he thought it was Hinata, but when he slightly opened an eye he saw a guy giving him mouth to mouth.

"Agh…what the f….get off me!" yelled Kankuro while getting up.

Hack. Hack. Cough. Cough. The puppet master couldn't help but try to take the germs off of him. Even through the means of spitting.

"Who are you anyway?" asked Kankuro while wiping his mouth.

The man just looked at him as though he were stupid. One could clearly tell who he was by what he was wearing. "I'm the life guard."

"Ewww the fat man got kissed by another man."

"It wasn't a kiss, it was CPR," yelled Kankuro as he tried to pick up his hand to point at Miki. It just ended with him screaming. "Agh! My arm!"

"Are you ok Kankuro-san?" Hinata knelt down to check his arm. "I think you sprained your arm."

"What?! Owwww."

Hinata turned to look at her "husband". "Gaara-san, we need to take him to the hospital."

Gaara sighed and went to go help his idiotic brother up.

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At the hospital…

"You may come in now," the doctor stated as he motioned for Gaara, Hinata, and Miki to come into Kankuro's room.

They had been patiently staying in the waiting room until they were able to hear the doctor's diagnosis.

The Sabaku no "family" walked in after the doctor. "So how is Kankuro-san doing?"

"Don't worry," said the doctor, "it's just a minor sprain so he'll be okay."

"Ok thanks docty," began Miki, "bye fatty man. We'll see you later," she concluded as she waved at Kankuro.

Miki looked up at Gaara, "Come on daddy." The red haired teenager nodded in return. They both then made their way towards the exit.

"Uh Kazekage-sama, Kankuro isn't going to have to stay here. He's okay, all he needs is some rest," informed the doctor.

"Ha! In your face Miki!" yelled Kankuro getting up from the bed.

Miki stuck out her tongue in return.

"Well I guess we should head back home. Kankuro-san needs to rest." Hinata waved goodbye to the doctor and proceeded towards the exit.

Everyone else followed suit.

The Sabaku no "family" were now on their way home. It had been 15 minutes of peaceful silence. That is until Kankuro opened his big fat mouth.

"Hey Gaara who do you like better: me or Miki?"

"Miki. It's not even close."

"Ha ha told you fat man," laughed Miki.

"Gaara," spoke Hinata in a surprised tone, "You can't choose between your brother and your… erm… daughter."

"He's not my brother," the Kazekage replied. "He's not even my dog. If I had a dog and my dog had a kid and the dog's kid had a pet that would be Kankuro."

"Oooooh can I have a dog Gaara?" the puppet master asked.

"No," Gaara muttered.

"Can **Miki** have a dog daddy?"

"Sure."

"Hey that's not fair," yelled Kankuro.

Gaara just ignored him and walked even faster.

"Yay!" Miki yelled.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle. She knew that deep inside they actually cared about each other, despite how much they liked to portray otherwise with their rivalry and rude remarks.

--------------------------------------------------

The next day had seemed to go by really quick. It was already late afternoon and Hinata found herself getting into the regular routine more comfortably now.

The lavender eyed Hyuga made her way towards the front door.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, where are you going?"

"Oh hey Kankuro-san. I'm just going to go pick up Miki-chan from her ballet rehearsal."

"I guess I'll come too."

"But you're supposed to be resting Kankuro-san."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Besides it gets pretty boring up there all alone."

"Ok then let's go."

Both shinobi walked out the door, turned left, and walked in comfortable silence for 10 minutes. That is until they got to their destination.

"Hey mommy," yelled Miki as she ran towards her mother.

"Hello Miki-chan," responded the Hyuga with a hug.

"Excuse me."

Hinata looked up to see the ballet instructor.

"I was wondering if you could take care of the children for a second. I need to go buy them some snacks. The store is just around the corner so I won't take long."

"Sure," replied Hinata.

"A friend of mine named Tatsuki will come and help you in a few minutes," the instructor stated as she ran off towards the store.

"Damn, exactly how are we supposed to take care of them," hollered Kankuro. The lady ignored him and continued to run.

A quick minute later another lady came to greet them. She walked towards them carrying a baby in her arms. "Hello my name is Tatsuki, and I'm guessing you're the help that my friend told me about."

"Correct," stated Kankuro and Hinata in unison.

"Aww, what a cute baby," Hinata held out her arms, "may I hold him?"

"Sure," replied the woman as he handed the infant to Hinata.

The Hyuga heiress couldn't help but fawn over the baby as she cradled him in her arms. She was a sucker for them.

Miki tugged on Hinata's pants. "Miki wants to hold him too."

"Okay Miki-chan, but be very careful." She gently handed the baby to Miki.

"Wow, he's so small and chubby," smiled Miki as she stared at him star eyed.

"Let me hold him," said Kankuro. He grabbed the baby with his one good arm but as soon as he touched him he started to cry.

"Wah!"

"Fat man, he hates you."

Tatsuki grabbed the baby from Kankuro and as soon as she did he ceased from crying.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle, "You were right Miki-chan."

"He doesn't hate me, he loves me!" Kankuro grabbed the baby and it started to cry again.

"Give him back to me," Tatsuki ordered, "You're going to give him nightmares," she added as she grabbed the baby. It stopped crying immediately. "You're not good with kids are you?"

"What?! Yes I am. Children love me; they think I'm Santa Claus." Kankuro turned towards a random kid. "You like me right?"

"Don't make me kill you," the little boy threatened.

"Wow fatty man, everyone hates you."

"Wait, let's see if the baby cries when I do this," informed Kankuro. He looked directly at the baby and covered his face with his hands. "Where's the baby?"

The baby just looked at the puppet master wide eyed.

"There he is!" yelled Kankuro as he uncovered his face.

Kankuro covered his face once more. "Where's the baby?"

"There he is!" yelled the puppet master uncovering his face only for it to be three inches form the infant's face.

The baby began to cry. "WAH!!"

"Stop it fat man, you're scaring him," screamed Miki hitting him on the leg.

The woman merely turned the baby away from Kankuro's sight and it stopped crying immediately. Tatsuki made her way to the group of children that were huddled near a bench. "Alright children, how about I tell you a story?"

"Yay!" the kids yelled in unison.

"No! I'll tell them a story since I love children," stated Kankuro.

Minutes later Tatsuki's friend came back with a bag full of snacks. She stares at the scene before her.

"And then the kid found his family and lived happily ever after. The End," concluded Kankuro.

"That's not a very satisfying ending," informed a little blonde girl.

"It's a happily ever after ending with one big happy family. I can't get more satisfying than that," replied Kankuro as a matter of factly.

"Well then where's your big happy family?" questioned another girl.

"Well are you blind or what? Don't you all see them here?" Kankuro put his arm around Hinata while placing his sprained arm on top of Miki's head. "This is my family."

All the kids stared at him for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"Alright that's enough kids," said the instructor, "here are the snacks,' she added as she placed the bag on the bench. She then turned towards Hinata and Kankuro. "Thank you both very much. I hope they didn't cause any trouble."

"You're welcome. And they weren't any trouble at all," replied the lavender eyed kunoichi as a smile spread across her face. "Well I guess we should be going already."

All three bid the children farewell before they proceeded to make their way back home.

As the three passed a cluster of market vendors an old man suddenly popped out in front of them.

He pointed at Kankuro. "Hey you look like a big fat ugly man," the old man stated as he pulled out a small bottle form his pocket. "I've got this potion that will turn you handsome," he added while staring at Kankuro with disgust.

"What are you talking about," the puppet master shot back. "I already look beautiful. I'm as skinny as a twig."

"Ha ha ha ha," laughed the old man, "I've also got some potion for your poor eyesight my friend."

"Hey mister do you have something to turn the fat man into the Chupacabra?"

"Of course. I've got all kinds of potions." He turned to look at Hinata. "I also have some love potions that would make the person you love fall in love with you. You have some one you like don't you?"

"Um…well…" Hinata couldn't help but blush a cherry red color as she thought of the one person she had always liked: Naruto.

"Hey mister, she already has daddy," stated Miki as a matter of factly.

"What? Oh you mean the Kazekage."

"Yeap, mommy loves daddy this much," conveyed Miki as she stretched her arms wide apart to show the amount of love.

Upon hearing her daughter's statement Hinata blushed so hard that you could almost actually see steam coming out of her.

"No she doesn't!" interrupted Kankuro, "She loves me more!"

"Pardon me, let me introduce myself." The old man took off his disguise only to reveal he wasn't even old but rather a guy who looked to be about 16. He was tall, tan, had grey eyes, and had orange spiky hair. He grabbed Hinata's hand and placed his lips gently on it. "My name is Nakatsu. Nice to meet you, Hinata-sama."

Kankuro screamed, "You freak get away from Hinata-chan."

"Don't worry baka. I'm one of the Kazekage's most trusted and powerful ANBU guards."

"Um…why were you dressed up as an old man?" questioned Hinata.

"Well that was just for fun but the real reason I'm here is to protect ya'll. I mean, the Kazekage's wife and daughter, that is. Kankuro you can just go die somewhere," he grinned while looking at Kankuro.

"Why you…" mumbled the puppet master under his breath.

"Well I'll be keeping my eye on you guys. I'll see you later," he added before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Mommy that guy was cool," said Miki in an amused tone.

"Well I guess he was but…"

"He's a freak!" spat out Kankuro. "I hate his guts! He treats me like I'm nobody."

"Um Kankuro-san…" stated Hinata as she tried to interrupt Kankuro from his rambling.

"Well one day I'll show him," uttered the puppet master waving his fist in the air.

"Kankuro-san let's go home already."

"Ok Hinata-chan."

------------------------------------------

The following day…

The next day seemed to go by really slow. In fact, Hinata was beginning to get bored. She usually did her same old routine every morning but today was different. Gaara didn't go to work, didn't have any meetings, and didn't have any business trips. This time it was Kankuro who was busy. He had been assigned an A-rank mission the night before.

_-----------Flashback----------_

"_No, I don't want to go!" yelled Kankuro. "My hand still hurts!"_

"_Kankuro! You need to do a mission for once in your life," stated the Kazekage, "and Hinata-san already healed your arm." _

"_Ha ha stupid fat man," laughed Miki._

"_No, you can't make me!" Kankuro began to run away._

"_Guards! Seize him!" the Kazekage ordered._

_Five ANBU guards appeared in a puff of smoke and grabbed Kankuro before he could make a get away._

"_LET GO OF ME!"_

_The guards dragged him through the hallway and he was almost completely out of the house before he grabbed the door. They pulled him from his feet but he remained latched onto the door like as if his life depended on it. _

"_HINATA-CHAN! NO, I CAN'T LEAVE HER ALONE!"_

_The puppet master was still grabbing onto the door until the five ANBU, with one final pull, managed to get Kankuro out of the house, while breaking the door in the process. _

"_NO!" he yelled as he was being dragged by the guards on the floor, while still clutching a chunk of the door in his hand._

"_Bye Kankuro-san," Hinata waved._

"_Bye fatty man," waved Miki while jumping up and down with excitement. _

_----------End of Flashback----------_

"Yay! A day without the fat man! Just daddy!" Miki began dancing around the room before she turned to face her mother. "Miki wants to know if we're going somewhere today mommy?"

"I don't know, Miki-chan," responded Hinata as she finished wiping the kitchen table.

At that moment Gaara walked into the room.

"Daddy!" yelled Miki as she ran towards him and hugging him on his leg.

"Hello Miki."

"Um Gaara-san are we going anywhere today?" Hinata placed her cloth down to look at Gaara. _'It's kind of weird being alone with Gaara-san. Usually Kankuro-san was always with us.'_

"I know! I know!" Miki began to jump up and down. "Let's have a picnic."

Hinata looked at Miki. "That's a good idea." She turned to face the Kazekage. "Don't you agree Gaara-san?"

Gaara simply shrugged. "Sure."

"Great, I'll get started on the food right now," stated Hinata making her way to the kitchen.

"Don't worry mommy, Miki has the food already." The little girl ran into the kitchen and came out with a brown hand woven basket.

"Um Miki-chan how did you make the food all by yourself?"

"Well um…I asked the cook man to make us some food because I told him we were going on a picnic," replied sweet little Miki.

Miki handed her mother the basket. "Wow Miki-chan, you planned out everything didn't you?"

"Yup I want to spend time with mommy and daddy alone," smiled Miki. "I didn't want the fatty man to ruin and eat all the picnic food."

"Aw that's so sweet Miki-chan," stated Hinata as she kneeled down to give her daughter a hug.

Gaara just stood there with, can you believe it, a genuine smile.

"Let's go," stated the Kazekage.

"Ok," yelled Miki, "Come on mommy and daddy," she added as she grabbed Hinata's and Gaara's hand. She practically dragged them out the door and towards the park.

As they made their way through the village faint whispers could be heard about the Sabaku no "family".

"Aww they make such a cute family," said a woman to her husband.

"You can tell they really love each other," whispered an old lady.

It was like this all the way to the park. Hinata didn't really mind, that is, until they actually got to the park. Once there everyone kept their eyes glued to the "family".

'_This is pretty awkward,' thought Hinata. _She was trying not to let the stares get to her. "So where should we set up?"

"Miki says over here!" Miki directed her parents towards a spot under a large oak tree surrounded by a large flower patch.

Both Hinata and Gaara made their way towards the spot. Once there the Hyuga unfolded the blanket and set it up properly.

Gaara sat down on the red checkered blanket and leaned against the big oak tree. Hinata sat adjacent to him while Miki sat opposite of her father.

The little girl began unpacking the lunch. It turned out that the chef had made bentos at Miki's request. The Sabaku no child handed her parents a bento each.

Gaara's bento had a panda with the words "World's Best Daddy" on it, Hinata's bento had a fox with the words "#1 Mom" inscribed on it, and Miki's had a teddy bear with the words "Daddy's lil Girl" under it.

"Miki-chan, where did you get these bento boxes?"

"The maid took Miki to the store with her the other day. The man at the store said Miki could have any thing she wanted for free." Miki looked down at her bento. "So I picked these bento boxes."

"So that's where you disappeared to that afternoon," said Hinata.

Miki nodded. "I also got one for the fat man. It has a picture of a fat pig and it says "fatty Man"," giggled Miki.

Hinata giggled as well. "Well I guess we should dig in before this food goes to waste."

They all then began to eat as one small happy family. The bento consisted of rice, umeboshi, a slice of broiled salmon, a rolled egg, and other delectable items.

After they all finished eating Miki couldn't help but blurt out, "Miki thinks this is the bestest day ever!" Soon after this she ran to the nearby field full of flowers and began to chase the butterflies.

Hinata smiled as she watched her daughter enjoy herself. Just then a gust of wind blew in through the air. The Hyuga felt the breeze run through her hair, sending chills down her spine. The wind seemed to entrance the kunoichi into the concept of "Konoha". _'I…I wonder how everyone is doing in Konoha. What is every one up to? How…how is…Na…Nar…Naruto…doing?'_

Hinata was broken from her thoughts by the sound of chattering boxes. She turned towards the sound and noticed Gaara cleaning up the food and the bentos.

"Oh Gaara-san you don't have to do that. Just leave it up to me," said Hinata as she began to pick up the mess.

"Its fine," Gaara responded as he continued to clean up.

After they finished cleaning up Gaara laid down on the blanket with his arms crossed behind this head while he looked up at the sky.

Hinata settled herself in a comfortable position as well. The lavender eyed Hyuga remained sitting with her ankles crossed while her hands supported her from the back. She crutched some of the grass with her hands and felt a cool sensation. It was such a nice day; she could feel the earth's calmness.

The kunoichi causally glanced at Gaara, and noticed him looking at her as well. She quickly averted her gaze to the sky.

It was then that she realized that she was **all alone** with Gaara. Throughout her stay with the Sabaku no family she had never once been alone with Gaara. Kankuro or Miki were usually always with her so this being alone with him was a first.

'_Should…should I say something?' Hinata thought. _"Um…," she began, "the sky is beautiful today isn't it?"

The red haired teenager kept his gaze on the sky. "Hum," was his response.

Hinata quickly looked around, trying to get an idea of what else to talk about. She then spotted Miki picking flowers. "Gaara-san, it's very kind of you to be taking care of Miki as if she were your own daughter."

"Hn."

"She really seems to like you too."

"Hm."

The kunoichi traced the grass with her fingers. _'I don't know what else to say.'_

'**_Hey Gaara I've been hearing your whole conversation…and you suck at talking to girls.'_**

'_What do you want Shukkaku?!'_

'_**You should try to say something more interesting than 'Hm'. You're boring her!'**_

'_Nobody asked you.'_

Before Shukkaku could respond Hinata interrupted Gaara's inner thoughts.

"Um Gaara-san, I've been meaning to ask where your parents are at?"

"My mother passed away when I was born and my father was killed."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It doesn't matter. I didn't care for them."

"But…but they're your parents. You can't hate your parents." Hinata turned to look at the Kazekage.

"I never really considered them my parents. They didn't mean anything me."

Hinata turned to look back at the sky. "I…I…know how you must feel about your parents. You may not always agree with their methods….but….I don't think I could hate them. Hate is such a strong word."

Gaara sat up while keeping his gaze on the grass. "Can you honestly say that after learning your father hired hit men to assassinate you?"

"I…I….I guess not, but to me hate is still too strong. My father trained me day after day, and day after day I disappointed him. He wanted a strong heir to lead the Hyuga Clan to greatness….but to him I'm just a big failure who will never amount to anything. He compares me with my younger sister, sets impossible standards, and embarrasses me in front of the whole clan, the village, and even my friends." Hinata lifted her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on them. "He calls me weak and unworthy, but despite all of this I still train hard everyday….so one day I can show him that I'm good enough….and prove my existence.

Gaara looked out into the distance. "Existence, huh?"

Hinata slightly chuckled, she felt that she could cry any minute but something made her want to laugh instead, almost cynically. "And even after he makes my life miserable, despite his neglect and disappointment….I still find myself not being able to hate him. Hate is a strong word….but I really really don't like him."

Hinata sighed. "But I guess you don't have that problem right? Everyone here respects you and worships the ground you walk on."

"You're wrong," responded Gaara as he turned to look at her.

"Wh...What?"

"Before I was the Kazekage everybody in this village hated me. They called me a monster. I was all alone…I had no one who could understand what I was going through…so I killed. Everyone ignored me and the only way, I thought, that could prove my existence was by killing. The only person I thought that I could love was myself," stated Gaara unemotionally.

Hinata turned to face the Kazekage. She inched closer to him and stuck out her arm. The Hyuga gently reached out for his forehead. "Is…is that why you have this kanji on your forehead…Love?" She gently traced the kanji with her fingers.

Gaara winced at her sudden touch but then quickly relaxed. "Yes," he simply responded.

Hinata realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her hand away.

Gaara averted his gaze towards the ground. "I only lived to love myself, and no one other than myself…that is until my fight with a certain shinobi. He made me realize that I had been wrong all this time…"

There was a moment of silence. Hinata was speechless…the words seem to hit her hard…she could actually somewhat relate to what he had said.

"Gaara-san," Hinata called.

The red haired shinobi turned to look directly at Hinata. He met her eyes.

"Don't worry, that's all in the past…you have friends who care for you now." Hinata flashed him a smile. "And you have a daughter that loves you," she added with a slight giggle.

Gaara lightly chuckled as a genuine smirk like smile spread across his face.

'**_Aww Gaara has a crush! _**

'_What the hell are you talking about?!' _

'**_All these years I've been inside of you I've never seen you smile like that. This girl must really mean something to you.'_**

'_What? She's just some girl from Konoha.'_

'**_Yeah who happens to be your "wife". See aren't you glad you took my advice.'_**

'_What advice?!'_

'_**Well I'm just saying…or else Kankuro will take her away from you.'**_

'_That baka couldn't take candy from a baby, let alone Hinata.'_

'**_Well I'm just saying you better make your move or somebody else will take her.'_**

'_It doesn't matter to me, I don't like her.'_

'**_Yeah sure…hey where's the little girl?'_**

'_Huh?'_

"Where's Miki?" Gaara suddenly asked as he got up from the blanket.

"Huh?" Hinata quickly turned to the field that Miki had been playing in earlier.

She wasn't there!

Gaara scanned the area but Miki was nowhere to be seen.

Hinata's eyes filled with horror. "MIKI-CHAN!!"

All of a sudden the air was filled with a high pitched scream. "AAAGH!!"

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

**PLEASE REVIEW!! I hope you guys liked this twenty eight page long chapie. It took me a really long time to come up with this but it was worth it. This chapter was also greatly inspired by Ice Age 2….I'm guessing you noticed some of the similar scenarios...lol.**

Miki: Ha ha the fat man kissed another man!

Kankuro: It was CPR!

Nakatsu: The poor man probably died because of your horrible breath Kankuro.

Kankuro: What are you talking about?! My breath smells like fresh flowers!

Nakatsu: Ha I also got some potion for your poor smell my friend.

Miki: No get some potion to turn the fat man into the chupacabra!

-----------------------

**Ok and now to answer some reviews from my lovely readers:**

WiccaGirl16: Yeah Gaara and Hinata do make a cute couple but then again so do Sasuke and Hinata. Aghh I'm so conflicted…lol…I guess that's why I'm going to have a poll later on. That's too hard a decision to make on my own.

Elsie-neechan: Awesome, I'm glad you feel that way. I'm also glad you like the Kankuro bashing as much as I like putting it in there.

rcr: Yeah! You hate Sakura too?! That's awesome then 'cause you won't have a problem on me bashing sakura.

Ayla Silverfang: Hmm…I still don't know what well happen to Miki yet. I have a couple of ideas but I'm still debating on them. Lol…and don't worry…she won't end up with Kankuro…at least I hope not.

dark wolf on a full blood: La llorona is part of a Mexican tale. It is said that after her husband left her, and only paid attention to the children and not her, she drowned her children along the bank of a river. After she committed the crime she felt guilty and killed herself too. Her soul didn't sleep though since it is said that in the middle of the night people hear her shrills and cries screaming out for her children. God condemned her to live on earth repenting for what she had done and now her spirit wonders around looking for her children….or so that's how the legend goes.

AuroraStarPhoenix: Lol, I'm glad you reviewed for the sake of the Suna. Hopefully they will see Kankuro clean his room again…that's if it doesn't get messy again.

another random writer: Thanks. And I'm glad you reviewed for the sake of Miki-chan!!...lol

Takeira Hansu-Azali : I'm glad you like my story ! And I'm glad you like Miki-chan…and I want a kid like her too…that would be hilarious. I've always imagined Kankuro being dumb too…I mean out of the three sand sibs. I always pictured him to be the dumb crazy one. Oh and I know how you feel…Sasuke or Gaara…? Who's sexier?!. and then, as you pointed out, there's Itachi…it's that battle of the sexiest!!...lol…

DarkPrincessNamine : I tried to make this chapter as fast as I could…out of the fear of the pervy sage coming to kill me!! Ahhhhh! lol

richgirlfore: Hmm..good point, but it's not up to me. It's up to you and all the reviewers. I can't wait to see the outcome!!

darkdemon-kun: Happy you think my fic is funny! And as for Gaara to end up with Hinata, I don't know who will end up with her. It's up to you and the reviewers come the time of the poll. I can't wait!

Minvera: It's awesome that you like the chapter and the fact that everyone is mean to Kankuro. Oh and sorry for not finishing the chapter sooner.

acho0bl3ssU: Lol…yeah Kankuro is annoying…and you can offend him if you want, I don't mind 'cause I offend him all the time…and so does Gaara and Mike-chan…lol.

son13 :I'm glad you love the remarks that Gaara and Miki make to Kankuro as much as I love writing them…hehe.

litteRbug: Yeah the people of Suna are bias…but that just makes it more hilarious because they treat Kankuro like crap in the process. Although, if you notice, Suna only treats Kankuro like that and no one else. They just like messing with him as much as I do…lol


	8. Preparations for the Festival

**Well after receiving many threats about updating, particularly weird ones like being beat up by Michael Jackson or getting beat with a bread stick (lol), I decided to finally do so! I was originally going to update yesterday but my stupid internet wasn't working. Anyways, in all seriousness guys, thank you all so much for your support on this fic. I really appreciate it!**

hyugaheiress: Miki-chan, disclaimer please.

Miki: hyugaheiress doesn't own Naruto, but _I_ do own the fat man!

hyugaheiress: What? Really?

Miki: He's my pet piggy!

'_**..'-thoughts are italicized**_

"…"**-talking**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Preparations for the Festival**

Chapter 8

"AHHHHH," a high pitched scream illuminated through the park.

"MIKI-CHAN!" When Hinata received no reply to her statement, she brought her trembling hands to her mouth in horror. What could have happened to her "daughter"?! Suddenly, the Hyuga heiress felt her knees give in and collapsed on her legs.

"Hinata-chan," stated Gaara quickly as he rushed to aid his "wife". He bent down on one knee and placed his right arm around the Hyuga's shoulders. He could feel her trembling violently so he tried to assure her that everything would be alright. "Don't worry, everything will be ok."

Sensing his wife's decreasing trembling he yelled out in a militant style, "ANBU." Within a second Amelia and Nakatsu, his most trusted and powerful officers, appeared. "Find Miki."

"Hai Kazekage-sama," they replied in unison, quickly disappearing to find the little Sabaku no child.

"Come-on Hinata-chan, let's go look for her," the red haired teenager reasoned as he helped his wife up, who was at this time, more calm.

_Hinata-__**chan?**_

For some reason she felt very secure and comfortable in Gaara's arms, it felt almost soothing. He made her feel like everything _would_ be alright so she let him guide her as they looked for their daughter.

**xxxxxxx**

"Mhah…met me mo matty man," mumbled Miki.

As you would have guessed, having "matty man" as a clear indicator, Miki's kidnapper was none other than Kankuro baka. He was currently crouched on a big oak tree, whose many leaves managed to hide him, with his hand placed over the little girl's mouth, preventing her from screaming so she wouldn't alert anyone. "Be quiet," the puppet master whispered.

"Met me mo!!"

Now, Kankuro may not be the smartest person in Suna, but one would wonder why he would have even dared to kidnap someone, and the Kazekage's daughter at that! He should have known that in doing so, he would quickly get caught, and face the ominous wrath of the all powerful Gaara, not to mention deal with the indignation and displeasure of the pissed off Suna townspeople, who by now had grown to love Miki.

Little Miki-chan tried to wiggle her way out of the puppeteer's grasp by kicking and jerking her body, but to no avail. Kankuro had a tight grip on her. "Miki, ever since we met you, Gaara and Hinata-chan have gotten closer. I _can't_ let that happen."

Miki continued to struggle and managed to bite Kankuro's hand. "Owww!"

"Found you," interrupted another voice. The sand sibling looked up but saw no one. "Right here you baka." The puppet master turned his head and saw Nakatsu crouching on the tree limb next to him. "Give me the girl and no one will get hurt."

"No!" yelled Kankuro.

"Suit yourself." The orange haired ANBU focused some chakra in his index finger and merely pushed Kankuro off the tree.

'_Oh crap,' _thought the puppeteer as he was falling. In mid air he turned the angle of his body so that he would land on his back to shield Miki from getting hurt.

"Amelia, get Miki!" yelled Nakatsu

Using the tree as a spring board, Amelia jumped into the air and managed to snatch the Sabaku no child from Kankuro. She then landed perfectly on the ground, while the puppet nin landed face first.

Amelia looked at Miki, "Are you ok Miki-chan?"

"Yeah," added Nakatsu, "'cause if you tell us he tried to take a swing at you we can take him in right now."

"No, the fatty man was just a big meanie, he scared Miki!"

"Miki-chan!" The little girl's ears perked at the sound of the familiar voice. She looked over Amelia's shoulders and saw her mommy and daddy heading towards her. "Mommy!"

Hinata quickly rushed over to her daughter and embraced her in a big hug. "I'm so relieved they found you." The lavender eyed Hyuga then looked over her daughter. "Are you alright Miki-chan, are you hurt?"

"Mommy, the fat man grabbed Miki."

"What?" Hinata readjusted Miki in her arms and looked at the sand sibling. "Is this true Kankuro-san?

"Yeah but…"

"Why did you kidnap Miki?" interrupted Gaara in a cold tone.

"Well what had happened was-well I uh- I finished my mission early and…"

"What?!" yelled Nakatsu in disbelief. "You finished your mission early? That's impossible! You can barely finish changing your clothes. I heard that your sister Temari has to lay out your clothes every morning."

"Seriously?" questioned Amelia. She couldn't help but burst out laughing at the thought.

"Kankuro," stated Hinata with a humorless expression, "How…how could you? Was this a supposed to be a joke…'cause it wasn't funny."

"Hinata-chan…I …I…" began Kankuro.

"You have no idea how horrifying it felt when I found out that Miki-chan had been kidnapped. I'm…I'm disappointed in you Kankuro-san." With that said the Hyuga turned around and headed off towards the Kazekage manor.

Kankuro, for once, was quiet. He didn't know what to say. He merely looked around to see if anyone would say that this wasn't happening. That his Hinata-chan was not mad at him. He caught Gaara's gaze and earned a disapproving glance.

"I'll deal with you back at the manor, and don't even think about running away," said the stoic Kazekage as he turned around to follow his wife.

"Oooooh Kankuro baka you're in for it now!" taunted Amelia while pointing an accusing finger at the puppet master. "Come on Nakatsu; let's get to the manor so we can see what Kazekage-sama has planned for punishment."

The orange haired ANBU went towards the sand sibling and whispered, "Hey Kankuro I have some potion that will make them forget everything."

"Really?" inquired the puppeteer with eagerness.

"No just kidding; you're screwed." Nakatsu let out a chuckle before turning around and following after his comrade Amelia.

"Oh Kami-sama help me, Gaara's going to kill me!"

**xxxxxxx**

The Sabaku no family and the two ANBU were currently convened in the living room. Gaara was sitting on the long white couch with Hinata next to him; Miki was sitting down on the carpet playing with the bottom of her daddy's robes, Amelia was sitting on a couch opposite of them, and Nakatsu was leaning on the white walls.

All of a sudden Kankuro burst through the door. "Hinata-chan!! I'm so sorry!" he yelled, "And also Miki!" He ran towards his Hinata but accidentally tripped over the carpet. After he got up he continued his apology. "And to show you how much I'm sorry I got you both something. I was planning on giving it to you as a farewell gift on the day of the festival but I'll give it to you two now."

The puppet master took out a brown package, that seemed to be wrapped really crappy, and handed it to the little Sabaku no child. "Here Miki."

She opened the present and came upon a doll. However, this wasn't just any ordinary doll, it was a Gaara doll! Miki began jumping up and down excitedly. "Look Mommy! It's daddy!" she yelled as she showed her mother.

"That's really nice Miki-chan," Hinata smiled, "Thank Kankuro-san for buying it for you."

Miki turned toward the puppeteer and gave him a big grin. "Miki says thanks fatty man."

"No prob. squirt but I didn't buy it. I snatched it away from one of Gaara's fan girls."

The red headed Kazekage shot his brother an apprehensive look. He seemed rather disturbed about the fact that his fan girls even had a precise looking doll of him in the first place.

Kankuro ignored the stare he was receiving from his brother and took out a small baby blue box out of his pocket. "This is for you, Hinata-chan," he stated as he handed her the gift.

Hinata opened the box to find a dazzling stretch sparkly silver bracelet with three rows of 144 genuine Rhinestone crystals. "Wow it's so beautiful Kankuro-san, but how could you afford it? The bracelet looks really extravagant."

"Don't worry about it Hinata-chan. I had saved up all of my money from previous missions I had and added that with the money from today's mission." He took out his piggy wallet and all it spat out was a puff of smoke.

Hinata smiled as she got up from the couch to hug the puppet master. "Thank you Kankuro-san."

'_Yes! Hinata-chan is hugging me!'_ thought Kankuro. _'Now she better like me better than Gaara.' _The puppet master looked over at his brother and stuck out his tongue.

Gaara lowered his eyes and glared back.

'_**Hey Gaara what are you going to get Hinata?' asked Shukkaku**_

'_What are you talking about?' responded Gaara_

'_**Well since she's your wife and all I just figured you would get her something.'**_

Gaara merely ignored Shukkaku and continued to glare at his brother. "This reminds me Kankuro, I haven't told you your punishment. Once Temari comes back you have to spend the whole week with her, every waking moment."

The puppet master began to shiver violently, so violent in fact that is caused Hinata to let go of him. "WHAT?!!! WHY ME?! WHY DO _I _HAVE TO?!"

"Well I know you missed her so this will be an opportunity for you to do a little sibling bonding, not to mention help her do one weeks worth of paper work that was left undone because of her absence." A smirk spread across Gaara's lips; that surely worked out the way he had wanted to.

While Hinata was occupied by Kankuro's desperate balling and frantic screaming in the corner of the room, Nakatsu walked over to the red head and leaned down on the couch to ask him, "Hey Kazekage-sama what are you going to get your wife?" According to the little one, she said that Hinata loved you this much," concluded the ANBU as he spread his arms far apart to show the amount of love.

"No this much," exclaimed Miki, stretching out her arms even more.

Gaara stiffened, before relaxing, masking the tint of red that had spread across his cheeks when he heard their statement.

Miki looked over to where Kankuro was currently talking to Hinata. "Hey fat man! You should have gotten Miki a mommy doll too."

The puppeteer quickly snapped out of his mood. "What?! No, it's mine! Get your own Hinata-chan doll….ah wait uh I mean…there _is no_ Hinata-chan doll."

Nakatsu rolled his eyes and looked back at Gaara. "Anyways how about I give you some advice Kazekage-sama? Why don't you get her a gift card?"

Amelia, overhearing this, smacked him on the head. "Don't tell him that you baka! That's not a good gift for a wife."

The male ANBU rubbed his head. "Hey that hurt and you didn't let me finish. I was going to tell him to get her a gift card _to his heart_.

That comment earned him another clomp by Amelia. "That is so lame. Ok Romeo let's go," she stated as she grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away from the Kazekage and out the door.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Meanwhile back in Konoha…**

"Ah yes, this is what I call relaxation." Temari was currently sitting on a beach chair under a blue umbrella in the Hyuga mansion's backyard. _'Now I have to think of a way to make Hinata like Gaara…hmmm,' _she thought, '_Kankuro might get in the way but I'll just have to _take care_ of him.' _She continued to contemplate this subject until she was interrupted by Hinata's younger sister.

"Hey get out of the way. That's where I train."

Temari just ignored her and took a sip of her ice cold lemonade.

"Hey ugly old lady, can you hear me or are you death?!"

"No, but you're about to be once I make your ass for a hat," responded Temari, breaking the glass she held in her hand.

Hanabi felt a strong evil aura generate from the sand sibling and backed away. "Fine," she muttered, turning around to leave.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Anyways back to Hinata…**

It was the next day and as usual Hinata was doing her regular routine. After everyone ate breakfast she was left alone; everyone had gone to handle some business before Miki's performance later on the day.

The only person with her was Nakatsu, but that's because this was part of his job, to guard the Kazekage's wife. Amelia, the other ANBU, was guarding the little Sabaku no child.

The Hyuga heiress leaned against the wall outside the entrance of the showroom. Her gaze focused on the people who were walking in with equipment, props, and costumes for Miki's ballet recital. A group was currently putting and setting up the stage.

Nakatsu noticed the look on her face. "Hinata-sama, you look bored."

"Hinata-sama?" questioned the Hyuga.

"Yeah of course, since you are the Kazekage's wife and all it only seems fit for me to address you as sama. I just can't go "yo yo wuzz up Hinata, what's the dillio yo"."

Hinata let out a laugh. "Is that how you normally address people?"

Nakatsu smiled, "Well no, but I knew that would make you laugh."

"Well thanks, I needed that. It's just that this manor is so big and sometimes it gets boring here all by myself."

"Don't worry, I bet you'll have a fun time at the festival."

"Yeah I guess your right. What about you?"

"Me? Well I'm not going to be there with you, Miki, and Kazekage-sama."

"Nani?! Why?"

"Because Amelia and I are going to be guarding the village to make sure there is no danger."

"But there are plenty of ninja; why you two?" protested Hinata.

Nakatsu lifted his arm up to show his muscles. "'Cause we are the strongest and we have to lead and monitor all the squads who will be on patrol." He let down his arm and clutched his hand in a heroic manner. "Besides it doesn't really matter because I would do anything to protect this village."

Just then a maid came up to them to inform them about recital. "Sorry to interrupt Hinata-sama but the ballet performance is about to start."

"Thank you," Hinata responded. "Come on Nakatsu-san." She went into the showroom and walked towards the ten chairs that were situated in front of the stage.

"Mommy!" yelled Miki as she ran towards Hinata. Following the Sabaku no child was her guard, Amelia.

"You and daddy will finally get to see Miki dance," exclaimed Miki and she jumped up in down excitedly in her tutu.

"Good luck Miki-chan," replied Hinata.

The little girl nodded as she ran behind the stage to get ready. Hinata was then led by the maid to the seat next to the middle chair. "Here you go Hinata-sama. We set up your seat next to your husband's." Hinata sat down and waited for the performance with Nakatsu standing behind her.

While they waited, Gaara, Kankuro, and the eight council members came towards the entrance of the showroom that was being guarded by two guards.

Upon seeing the Kazekage the two guards quickly moved out of the way and allowed him to enter, followed by the council members. As Kankuro went towards the door the guards intentionally blocked his way.

"What are you guys doing?" questioned the puppet master.

"We can't let you in. Only the important people are allowed inside," muttered the blond guard.

"What?!! But I'm Gaara's brother."

"We don't care if you're his father. You're not a part of the council so you can't go in," disclosed the other guard.

Kankuro's mouth shot open. "But my daughter is in there! Let me in!"

"What?" questioned the blond. "We know that you don't have a daughter."

"I _do_ have one," protested Kankuro. "I even have a picture of her." He took out his wallet, grabbed a picture without looking at it, and showed the guards.

"Like dude she looks too pretty to be your daughter, not to mention she looks old enough to be the same age as Kazekage-sama. Just how old are you Kankuro baka?"

"What?!" The puppeteer took a look at the picture. "Oops wrong picture; that's my wife."

He flipped though each photo looking for one of Miki. He had like a million photos of Hinata and finally after about two minutes he showed them one of Miki.

The guards eyed the photo. "That's not your daughter. She's too pretty and no one would ever marry a baka like you in the first place," one of the guards bluntly proclaimed.

"What? She is 100 percent my daughter! Just let me in."

"No!" they both screamed in unison.

Anyways back to Gaara…

The red haired teenager and the council members walked in the room and sat down in their assigned chairs. When Gaara sat down he was greeted by none other than his lovely wife. "Hey Gaara-kun," said Hinata with a big smile plastered on her face.

Gaara couldn't help return the smile, of course it wasn't as big of a smile, but it was a smile none the less. "Hey Hinata-chan."

'_Hinata-chan? Gaara-kun?'_ thought Nakatsu. _'Kazekage-sama _never_ calls anyone 'chan' and I've never heard Hinata address anyone as 'kun', not even that baka Kankuro even though he calls her 'chan' all the time. Did something happen between these two? Or maybe they finally started to act like an actual husband and wife.' _A big grin spread across the ANBU's face.

"Um Gaara-kun I want to thank you for keeping me calm yesterday. When Miki-chan disappeared I felt really terrified and didn't know what to do. I remember you telling me everything was going to be ok and that made me feel so much better."

"You're welcome," replied the red head. "But, I should also thank you for putting up with my idiotic brother."

Giggling, the lavender eyed kunoichi responded, "It's ok, Kankuro-san sure has made my stay _interesting_. I mean I came here thinking I was merely going to help out but it turned out I received a daughter and husband in the process."

Gaara leaned back in his chair and began chuckling. "You're telling me. Every time I go out into the village people always ask me where my daughter and wife are. They even give me toys to give to Miki."

"Well people here sure are nice then. When I went shopping with Miki-chan and Kankuro-san they gave her and me free clothes. They charged Kankuro though."

"Yeah well Kankuro has never had that much of a good relationship with most of the villagers. He always tried to play jokes on them so I guess that's their way of getting even."

'_Wow Kazekage-sama seems relaxed. He's actually engaging in a conversation.' _Nakatsu continued to stand behind Hinata but was slowly backing away to allow them to have their nice chat.

Before he could do so though, someone then came from behind the stage's curtains. It was none other than the little Sabaku no child. "Hello my name is Miki Sabaku no and my friends and me will perform for my daddy and the council guys. Please enjoy." And with that the little girl made her way backstage to start the performance.

The lights dimmed and the curtains lifted to reveal 12 little girls. They were wearing traditional looking rose and crème tutus and had their hair in neat buns. When the spotlight was cast on them and the music started, they began their performance.

Now back to Kankuro…

"Let me in!"

"No!" the guards replied.

"Damn you," muttered the puppet master. "Fine I'll just leave then." With that the sand sibling walked away and went around looking for a back entrance. Turning a corner, he came upon a brown door with a big star centered at the top. Making sure there was no one in sight the puppeteer opened the door and made his way in.

The room was dark and he couldn't see a thing, although he could faintly see some big curtains in front of him.

"Oh great you're finally here," an unfamiliar voice stated.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Stop fussing and hurry up. The performance has already started." The guy quickly put a tutu on him and pushed him through the curtains.

"What the hell," uttered Kankuro in a confused tone when he saw Miki and the other little girls twirling around in their tutus. The baka didn't know what to do so he started to jump.

Hinata's mouth slightly gaped open. _'Is…is that…'_ She leaned forward on her chair and strained her eyes. Upon realizing who it was she quickly turned behind her and asked, "Nakatsu-san isn't that Kankuro-san up there?"

The ANBU looked closer and realized that there was a big fat ugly man in the very back. "I think that _is _the baka."

The Hyuga turned her head back towards the performance. "I don't think it's such a good idea to have him dance by the girls."

"What do you mean?"

"Well last time he tried to dance he landed on a poor defenseless old lady, not to mention he injured a lot of people."

"So you mean that he can't dance?!"

"Um…well yeah."

Nakatsu was about to disappear in a puff of smoke and drag the baka off the stage but was stopped when suddenly a scream rang across the room.

"Agh!" screamed a little blonde haired girl. She fell to the ground holding her leg, and when she realized she couldn't get up she began to cry. "WAAH!! That ugly paint man hurt me!"

The lights turned on and everyone quickly rushed up to the stage. "Kankuro-san what have you done?" questioned Hinata as she bent down to check the little girl's leg.

"What?" the puppet master responded. "I didn't do anything! That girl was too close to me that's all."

Nakatsu eyed him suspiciously. "Don't lie you baka; you fell on the poor little girl. I'm surprised you didn't kill her since you're so fat."

"Stupid fatty man you hurt Miki's friend," yelled Miki as she kicked him in the shin.

"WAAH! My leg really hurts!" The little girl looked over at Kankuro and pointed at him menacingly. "You're going to pay for this!"

The puppet nin let out a cackle. "Ha ha ha you and what army?" Upon finishing that statement he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a council member.

"What did you just say to my daughter?" questioned the council member as he popped his knuckles.

"Ha only one of you? I can take you on," alleged a laughing Kankuro.

"Hey fatty man, Miki and her friends also! With daddy and mommy we can take you on!"

"Don't make me laugh. Ha ha ha Gaara can't even kill a bug."

The red headed Kazekage looked at his brother with an amused expression before snapping his fingers to signal his ANBU guards to restrain the baka. Within seconds Nakatsu and Amelia grabbed Kankuro and dragged him out the door with the girl's father following behind.

Everyone ignored the puppeteer's screaming as he was being dragged further away and focused on the little girl. "Don't worry," assured Hinata. "I'll fix your leg and it will be as good as new." The Hyuga placed her hands over the girl's sprained right leg and focused her chakra. A green light of chakra started emitting from her hand, as a swishing sound was also heard. After some minutes the green light disappeared. "Ok all done, but its best not to put any strain on it for a while. I'm afraid you won't be able to finish performing today, but if you rest up then by tomorrow you'll be as good as new."

The little girl thanked Hinata and, since the performance was not to continue, everybody else went home.

**xxxxxxx**

Once again the Sabaku no family and the two ANBU were gathered in the living room. They were all currently staring at the spectacle before them. Kankuro was tied up on a chair and gagged.

"What happened to the fatty man?"

Hinata gaped at the usually energetic puppet master as he sat limply back on the chair. He was covered in dark, circular bruises along with the purple paint that was smeared across his face. It all seemed to center around his big black left eye.

"The council member, that's what," responded Amelia.

Gaara took one look at his brother and burst out laughing. He hadn't seen him this bad since he had stolen Temari's doll when they were six and again when he had stolen her fan five months ago.

Nakatsu joined in on the laughing as he took out his camera to take pictures of Kankuro. "Muahahaha I'm going to put these on the internet."

Miki, who was standing right in front of the puppeteer yelled, "Eww fatty man is ugly! He looks like the chupacabra."

"Of course he looks like the chupacabra, he's its brother. Kankuro is not from this world."

Miki gasped, "For real? I knew it!"

The female Hyuga sighed. "I really wanted to see Miki-chan's performance."

"We all wanted to," Nakatsu spoke up. He looked at Kankuro. "But some baka ruined it. Well at least we got to beat up Kankuro. That made my day."

The rest of the day seemed to pass by rather quickly and nothing eventful happened until the middle of the night. Hinata had awoken to a screaming Miki. The little girl was tossing and turning in the bed.

The Hyuga tried waking her. "Miki-chan, wake up."

Miki continued to toss and turn, obviously having a nightmare. Hinata felt the little Sabaku no child's face and touched the cold sweat that was trickling down her head. The female Hyuga nudged her, "Wake up you're having a bad dream Miki-chan."

In a gasp of breath Miki suddenly woke up, sitting down on the bed, and began to cry. Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks as she wailed for her mother and father.

At that moment Gaara burst through the door. "What's wrong?! I heard Miki screaming." He scanned the room instantly, thinking someone had foolishly broken in, and saw his wife embracing his daughter, trying to sooth her wailing.

Hinata looked up at her husband. "Miki-chan had a nightmare."

The red haired teenager came closer to bed and saw that poor little Miki still had tears streaming down her face. Miki turned from her mother's chest to look at her father. "Daddy!"

Hinata let go of her daughter and allowed her to run to her father. Standing on the edge of the bed she reached out her little arms for Gaara. The Kazekage came even closer to the bed and allowed the little girl to cling to his robes and bury her face in them.

Hinata stood up, walked over to the other side of the bed, and sat down on the corner of the bed where Gaara stood with Miki. "Whatever happened Miki-chan, it was only a bad dream."

Gaara began stoking his daughter's head to reassure her everything would be okay. Through tears Miki began telling her nightmare. "Da-daddy, I sa-w the f-fat ma-man wit-hout mak-e up on an-d the-n y-ou and mom-my disap-pea-red and the-n Miki wa-s all alo-ne."

"Miki-chan it was only a nightmare. Don't worry your daddy and I are here, you're not alone," assured Hinata.

The sand teenager picked Miki up and carried her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Innocent little Miki was still crying so he rocked back and forth slowly while gently rubbing her back. After a while her crying began to cease and she began to drift of to sleep.

When Hinata noticed this she motioned for Gaara to place Miki down on the bed to allow her to go to sleep properly. When he was about to lay her down, Miki woke up and wouldn't let go of him. Tears began to swell up in her hazel green eyes once more. "No, don't leave me daddy."

He cast his wife a glance, asking what to do. "Don't worry Miki-chan I'll be here with you," began Hinata.

"Can both daddy and mommy stay with Miki?"

A blush rose across Gaara's face. Thank god it was night otherwise his wife would have noticed.

'_**Ooh come on,**_ _**you know you want to,' teased Shukkaku.**_

'_Be quiet. You wouldn't let me sleep anyway.'_

'_**Well considering the circumstance, sleep away.'**_

Hinata's eyes widened, averting her gaze to the ground. "Uh Miki-chan, I don't…I don't think…"

"Fine, Miki."

Hinata's face turned beat red when she heard Gaara's response. The red headed Kazekage put Miki down on the bed, brought the chair that was in the corner to the bed, and pulled it up next to Miki's bedside. He took a seat and looked at Miki. "Now go to sleep."

'_I thought he was going to…'_ Hinata shrugged off the idea and climbed on the bed to lay down on the left side of Miki. She held up the covers and said, "Come on Miki-chan you said you were going to sleep."

The little girl nodded her head and looked over at her daddy. "Aren't you going to sleep on the bed with Miki and mommy?" She added her puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

The male felt his stomach swell up, Miki sure was putting him in a compromising position. Finally, Gaara got up from his chair and climbed into the bed next to his daughter. So, it was Hinata on the left side of the bed, Gaara on the right, and little Miki in the middle.

A smile formed on Miki's face as Gaara brought the covers over them. "Good night mommy, daddy." And within a matter of seconds she had fallen asleep. Gaara readjusted himself and found that he was facing Hinata. She caught his gaze and remained looking at him for a minute before smiling and closing her eyes. "Good night Gaara-kun." And with that she fell asleep. He looked over his wife. _'She sure is different from anyone I've ever met before.'_ A smile formed on his face. _'Why does this seem so normal?'_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The Next Day…

Kankuro had spent the whole evening yesterday and the better part of the morning locked in his room. He had been lying on his bead the whole time because he couldn't move, those bruises really hurt. Plus he didn't want his Hinata to see him in such a condition, in other words, not in his usual sexiness self.

Hinata and Amelia were currently in the kitchen looking over a cook book. Gaara was sitting down at the table reading some important scrolls of the Suna Council, and little sweet Miki was playing dolls with Nakatsu.

"I think you should make some moon cakes and enter it in cooking contest," suggested Amelia while pointing at a picture of a moon cake in the book.

"You really think I should enter?"

"Why not? You're a really good cook," replied Amelia. "I'll help you make them if you want."

"Ok, thanks," responded Hinata.

Just then the Hyuga felt a tug on her pants. "Mommy, Miki wants to go to the park today."

"Sorry Miki-chan but I can't today. Mommy has to make something." She looked over at Gaara. A slight color of rose formed on her cheeks when she looked at her husband, perhaps it was because she remembered what had happened earlier in the morning. "Um, Gaara-kun can you take Miki-chan to the park?"

"Of course he will," answered Nakatsu. He turned to look at Gaara. "I'll go with you to make sure you have some fun!"

The Kazekage starred blankly at the ANBU.

"Yeay! Let's go daddy, let's go!" yelled Miki jumping up and down excitedly.

The little Sabaku no child took a hold of her father's hand and led him to the door followed by Nakatsu. Once Amelia made sure they were gone she eyed Hinata. "Ok, spill it."

Hinata gave her a baffled look. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come one Hinata-sama, Nakatsu told me he saw you and Kazekage-sama in a compromising position this morning."

Hinata's face turned crimson red; steam could be practically seen coming out of her ears. It turns out that little Miki had woken up early this morning and had gone down to watch cartoons in the living room, leaving only her father and mother in the bed. Nakatsu had been ordered by the council to awake Gaara for a short meeting. When the male ANBU arrived at the Kazekage's bedroom he found that he was not there. Seeing as Hinata was Gaara's wife and all, Nakatsu decided to ask her if she knew as to his whereabouts. When the male ANBU got to the Hyuga's room he found the door open so he went in and came upon an amusing sight. Gaara and Hinata were unusually close. The female Hyuga had her face buried in the crook of Gaara's neck while Gaara himself had his arms wrapped around his wife's waist.

Nakatsu was so amused by the scene in fact, that he decided to take pictures, otherwise how else would everyone believe him? Not to mention how else would he torture Kankuro. He became even more amused when he woke both of them up and saw the looks on their faces. Priceless!

"So do you like Kazekage-sama?"

"Um well I uh…"

"Aw come on, you can tell me. I'm not like Nakatsu who would blab everything," Amelia assured.

"I um…."

"Well personally I think you two would be a perfect match. Plus you know he'd be a good father. Just look how nice he is to Miki and she's not even his real daughter."

"Well…"

**xxxx**

Gaara was making his way through the village with Miki, who was gripping his robe, and Nakatsu, who was walking to the right of him. They sure were earning stares as the villagers looked on in fondness. "Ah he seems like the perfect father. Miki-sama sure is cute too," a lady said to a group of women.

Once they arrived at the park Miki was quick to lead her father to some flowers. "Daddy, let's go over there," begged Miki, pointing to some flowers. As she made her way to the lilies she saw a beautiful butterfly and began chasing it.

Gaara followed closely behind, keeping a close eye on her to make sure she wouldn't get kidnapped or anything.

It's nice of you to take your daughter to the park. You're a very good father, Kazekage-sama. Not to mention a good husband, eh eh," conveyed Nakatsu, nudging Gaara and giving him sly winks.

"Hn."

"Don't play Kazekage-sama. I know you like Hinata-sama but if you don't want to admit it….I mean who wouldn't like her? She's so freakin hot and…" Nakatsu stopped speaking when he noticed Gaara giving him an angry stare.

"Ha ha I was just playing Kazekage-sama, but you do like her don't you?"

Nakatsu continued to babble on while earning looks of annoyance from Gaara.

'_**A good father and a good husband? Wow Gaara you surprised me,' informed Shukkaku.**_

'_Be quiet.'_

'_**What, you don't want to talk? Ha ha ha! Well since we're on the subject, what are you going to get your wife and daughter? You can't let Kankuro out stage you on your gift.'**_

'_Why do you care?'_

'_**Well I just wanted to know. It's been boring around here.'**_

All of a sudden they heard a cry. "Ah! Miki fell!"

"What happened?!" inquired Nakatsu. "Who hurt you so I can gut them?!"

"That rock made Miki fall," remarked Miki, pointing to a small rock.

Nakatsu eyed the rock suspiciously. "Don't worry I'll take care of it!" He picked the rock up, "You're going to pay for hurting that poor innocent girl. Hahahahah! This is the end for you!"

Both Miki and Gaara sweat dropped. Why is he talking to a rock?

The male ANBU smashed the rock, dissolving it into nothing but dust. "Ha ha ha thinking you're so tough."

"Out of the way; I see someone hurt," a little boy shouted as he pushed Nakatsu out of the way and made his way to Miki. "Are you hurt?"

"I fell down," replied Miki, showing him the cut on her elbow.

"I see, I have a bandage so don't cry." He looked in his little messenger bag and took out a bugs bunny band-aid. "There," he said as he placed the band-aid on her elbow.

A smile formed on Miki's face. "Thank you."

"No problem. My name is Shota Nashiya." Shota looked to be about five years old, had short blondish hair, light brown eyes, wore dark blue shorts, and a white shirt. (If you have ever read the manga Aishiteruze Baby (Volume 3) then you will have a very good idea of how this little boy looks like. I modeled this character after him (I even gave him the same name) from this manga because he's so cute.)

"Sho-chan," Miki stated.

"Sho-chan sounds like a nick name for a girl…hm but I guess its okay." He looked at Miki in amazement, "Hey you're that girl…Miki right?" He pointed to a group of women, "I heard those ladies talking, you're the Kazekage's daughter right?"

"Yeah,"

"That's neat, he seems cool." Shota got up and offered his hand. Miki took it and they walked to a swing set nearby to play.

"OMG Kazekage-sama, she's talking to boy!"

"So, what about it?" replied Gaara.

"She's talking to a _guy_."

"It doesn't matter. You talk to Kankuro all the time."

"Ha ha ha Kankuro isn't a guy he's…well I don't know what he is but Miki is a girl so…uh you're right it doesn't matter."

Gaara lowered his gaze on Shota. "Hmm."

'_**You know you care," spoke Shukkaku. 'You can't take your eyes of him because you think he might hurt her or something.'**_

'_Leave me alone.'_

"Daddy can Sho-chan come to our house and play?" asked Miki as she tugged his robe.

"Sure," replied Gaara.

"Yay!" Miki ran to Shota to inform him of the good news.

"Ok I'll tell my mommy to take me to your house tomorrow. See ya," expressed Shota as he waved and left.

"Bye Sho-chan."

After their encounter with Miki's new friend they headed back to the manor and saw Amelia and Hinata drinking tea in the living room. "So how was your time at the park Miki-chan?" asked Hinata.

"It was fun! Mommy I met Sho-chan."

"Sho-chan?"

"Yeah she met a _boy_ named Shota," remarked Nakatsu. "He's coming over tomorrow to play with Miki."

"Oh you mean as a play date," stated Amelia rather than asked.

Nakatsu's mouth shot open. "What? It's not a date!"

Amelia looked at his comrade as if he were an idiot. "I didn't say it was _date._ I said it was a _play_ date."

"It has the word _date_ in there so it's a _date_!" Nakatsu began to panic and cry anime style. "But she's too young to go on a date!"

"For the last time Nakatsu it's a play date."

"It's a date, date, date," he continued, that is, before Amelia grabbed him by the ear. "Alright let's go already. You're starting to act like Kankuro."

"Ouch! It's a date..." The Sabaku no family could hear him saying the word date all the way out the door.

Hinata began to giggle, "Your friend sounds nice Miki-chan; I can't wait to meet him."

Miki began to jump up and down with excitement. "He's really nice mommy, he gave me this band-aid see." She pointed to the bugs bunny band-aid on her elbow.

Gaara continued to stand there quietly as the word date kept running through his mind.

'_**Oh your daughter has a date ha ha ha,' laughed Shukkaku. **_

'_It's not a _date_. It's a _play date_.'_

'_**It has the word date in there so it's a date. Yup, they're going to be alone together.'**_

Gaara merely stayed quiet and ignored Shukkaku's rambling.

"Gaara-kun? Gaara-kun are you there?" asked Hinata waving her hand in his face in an effort to try to get his attention.

"Huh? What?"

"I asked you if you can take care of Miki-chan tomorrow. I need to go to the bakery tomorrow with Amelia-san to enter my moon cakes in the contest."

"Oh ok."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The Next Day…

Finally, after an eventful week, it was the last day of Hinata's stay as well as the day of the Suna Moon Festival.

"I can't believe today is the festival," commented Hinata in astonishment.

"Yeay! Miki gets to wear her new Kimono today!"

"That's right," responded the Hyuga. "But that's not till much later. Right now everyone is scrambling to finish the last minute decorations."

Both mother and daughter turned their heads when they heard the front door of the manor open. It was none other than Kankuro.

"Hey where were you fatty man?"

"I went to enter myself in a beauty contest."

Just as the puppet master finished saying this Gaara came into the room. "Don't make me laugh you baka. You have to be pretty, not ugly and deformed to enter that contest."

Kankuro stuck his tongue out at his brother and then pointed at himself. Whatever, I am super pretty!"

"Did I just hear Kankuro say he was pretty?" asked Nakatsu coming into the manor, with Amelia following behind.

"Yeah, he entered himself in a beauty contest," answered Gaara.

"Wow, you might as well put the chupacabra to make it even. Oh wait the chupacabra will win since it is much prettier than you."

"What?! You're just jealous you can't be me," yelled Kankuro as he did a "whatever" sign with his hand and placed it in front of Nakatsu's face.

"Ha ha ha ha that's a good joke," responded Nakatsu.

Oh and by the way I entered Miki and Hinata-chan too," informed Kankuro.

"What?!" asked Hinata.

"Yeah I entered both of you."

"Why?" inquired Hinata, horror struck.

"Because I wanted to," he replied. "Don't worry Hinata-chan you'll win. I told everyone to vote for you or else I would beat them up."

Nakatsu started to roar with laughter. "Ha you'll beat _them_ up or is it reverse, they'll beat _you_ up."

"I don't have to do anything do I?" asked Hinata.

"Nope, I took care of it all."

Fine, I guess me and Amelia-san will go to the bakery now. Bye Miki-chan, Gaara-kun."

She gave them a bid farewell before walking out the door with Amelia and out into the street.

Kankuro's eyes bulged and his mouth widened in terror. _'WHAT?! Did my Hinata-chan just address Gaara by KUN?! She only calls me SAN and she calls him KUN! That can't be happening!'_

Gaara couldn't help but smirk at his brother's reaction. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Miki quickly ran to go open it, knocking Kankuro out of the way in the process. "Move fat man."

Miki opened the door to reveal none other than her new friend Shota. "Hi Sho-chan!"

"Hi Miki," he replied as he entered the manor. He turned around to the door and waved his mother goodbye. She waved back and told him she would be back around noon. Once further inside the house the little boy asked, "So what are we going to do today?"

"Let's go mess with the fatty man," Miki suggested.

"Fatty man?"

"I'll show you who fattyman is. He was here earlier but he probably went to his room," answered Miki as she led the way to Kankuro's room.

All the while Nakatsu and Gaara had watched their interaction. "You see that! Where are they going?" asked Nakatsu.

Gaara looked at the ANBU and stated, "They're just going to go mess with Kankuro. Besides they're just kids, what can go wrong?"

"Hmm…well what if he hurts her?"

Gaara stayed silent and looked up the stairs to where Miki and Shota had gone. "I'll go check on them." The Kazekage made his way upstairs and saw them knocking on his sibling's door.

"Fatty man come out! We want to play," shouted Miki as she knocked on the door.

Over the door Kankuro yelled, "I cant, I'm getting ready for the beauty contest."

Shota sighed, "Now what?"

"Hmm," said Miki as he placed her hand on her chin in a thinking position. "I got it," she whispered to Shota. "Mommy came!"

The puppet master quickly opened the wooden door and looked around. "Where?"

"She's downstairs, she came in with some man who was very handsome," alleged Miki, pointing down the staircase.

"What?!" screamed Kankuro. He quickly ran down stairs to check who was trying to take his Hinata away.

Miki began to giggle, "Ok, he's gone. You have the stuff Sho-chan?"

"Yeah," he contested as he pointed at his messenger bag.

The two went inside the room and looked around to see what they could destroy. "Ok let's hurry before he comes back." Miki walked over towards the dresser and grabbed a container that said paint. "I think this is the paint he uses for his face." She opened the bottle and peered in it.

"Put some ketchup in there," said Shota, handing her the bottle.

She squirted it into the paint bottle, closed the lid, and shook it. "Ok now for the foundation."

Shota looked at her with bewilderment. "What's foundation?"

"I don't know but I always here the fat man talk about it." She looked over all the bottles on the dresser. "I don't think its here." They quickly tried to look for it before Kankuro came.

"Found it," exclaimed Shota. He handed Miki the bronze dual-coverage powder foundation and a small bottle of espresso powder. She dumped its contents out in the trash and replaced it with espresso powder.

"Alright, let's go," said Miki as she led the way out of the room. Just in time too, since Kankuro was coming up the stairs already.

"My Hinata-chan is not here," mumbled Kankuro under his breath as he went inside his room, closing the door behind him.

Miki and Shot laughed all the way to Hinata's room. "Ha ha ha ha that was fun," grinned Shota. It was like this the rest of Shota's stay. They kept messing with Kankuro, playing practical jokes on him; they threw rocks at him, put worms in his lunch, and so much more.

By the time noon rolled around it was already time for Shota to leave. "Bye Sho-chan," said Miki, waving goodbye.

"Bye Miki. I'll see you later at the festival." He waved her farewell and left with his mom as quickly as he had come. Just when Miki had finished closing the door, and walked off a couple of feet, there was a knock at the door again. The little Sabaku no child made her way back to the door, wondering who it was.

Kankuro had come down the stairs and felt an evil presence. He began to panic when he saw Miki about to open the door. "Don't open that door! Something evil is behind that!" he yelled.

Miki ignored him an opened the door anyway. "Hello," she stated.

"Uh are we at the wrong house?" questioned a blonde haired boy.

"Of course not you baka," responded a blonde haired girl with sky blue eyes. "Just look at it, this isn't even called a house. This manor is really extravagant, I doubt anyone less than the Kazekage would live here."

"Ugh this is so troublesome. Do I have to be here?" stated a lazy unmotivated guy.

"Of course you do," answered the blonde haired female.

Nakatsu heard commotion coming from the manor's entrance so he decided to see what the fuss was all about. That's when he saw the many shinobi gathered around the door. "Oh welcome, you must be the Kazekage-sama's friends from Konoha."

"So _we are_ at the right house, but then who's this little girl? Is she yours?" asked the blonde haired boy.

"Out of way! What's the hold up," yelled the other sand sibling as she made her way to the front.

"Ahhhhh! I knew it was something evil! It's Temari!" screamed Kankuro, pointing at his sister.

She ignored her idiotic brother and eyed Nakatsu and Miki. "Who's that Nakatsu? I know this cant' be your daughter."

"Of course she's not my daughter. She's the Kazekage-sama's."

"WHAT?!" they all screamed.

As if on cue Gaara came by to see what the screaming was all about. Noticing the terrified expression on Kankuro's face, he looked towards what he was gawking at. He came upon none other than his sister, the rookie nine, and Gai's team. Gaara signaled the male ANBU to allow them in.

"You can all come in and have a seat in the living room," expressed Nakatsu, motioning for them to enter. Temari led the way in, and one after the other they all silently came in, awaiting what was to happen. They were curious to see if the little girl was in fact his daughter. And if she was, who was the mother?

Once everyone was situated, Naruto was the fist one to speak up. "Gaara, how come you never told me you had a daughter?! I could've been her godfather!"

Kankuro, who was sitting across from Naruto, brought his hands to his face in surprise. He was beyond shocked! "Oh my gosh you have a daughter, Gaara? How could you?!"

This earned the puppet master a smack on the head. "You knew I had a daughter already you baka."

"So Gaara you have a daughter, well then who's your wife?" asked Temari innocently, even though on the inside she was beyond pissed! _'Damn you Gaara! You married someone already?! She better be Hinata 'cause if it's not I'm screwed! I'll loose a lot of money."_

Ino looked over at Temari with a smirk plastered across her smug face. Judging by her expression it was obvious she was thinking, _'Ha you lost!'_

All of a sudden, the sound of a door opening pierced the air. They all looked up to see Hinata come into the living room with Amelia.

"Mommy!" yelled Miki as she ran up towards the Hyuga.

"OH MY KAMI!" screamed Naruto. "You're the mom Hinata-chan?!"

Everyone's jaw dropped down to the ground. The stunned look on their faces made Hinata feel even more uneasy. The only person who wasn't shocked was Sasuke. He was surprised perhaps, but he was even more furious! The Uchiha's lips tightened and his eyes narrowed, while clenching his fists to the point that they seemed to be turning red. He couldn't believe he had lost his Hinata.

Oh my, heads were definitely going to roll.

Temari shot a glance at Ino and judging by the look on the sand sibling's face she was clearly thinking, _'Ha ha _you _lost.'_

Little Miki grabbed her mother's hand and led her to where Gaara stood. "This is my mommy and daddy."

If it's even possible, the room went silent even more; so much so that you could practically cut the tension with a knife. It was as if someone had died…and based on the looks of some of their faces, it was possible that someone would.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Man, I would hate to be in that room, talk about scary! Now that everyone has found out that Hinata and Gaara have a daughter, what will everyone do? What will Sasuke do? Not to mention how will this affect Ino, Temari, Jiraiya and Tsunade's bet?! **

**Dun dun dun! Tune in to the next chapter where the festival will finally go down. **

**hyugaheiress: ****I'm taking Pre-Cal and U.S. Government this summer and it's hogging up all my time! Classes don't end until July 18 so I'm not going to update until after then. Sorry. **


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